The Inspiration
You'll find bead blasted metal across many markets used on a variety of products. Fine glass beads are applied under high pressure creating a uniformly textured surface. The resulting finish can be very refined to rugged looking depending on the depth of texture.
Translated to Aluminum
A sandblast look on aluminum surfaces traditionally has been offered in three ways: fine, medium and coarse finishes. Metallic inks are developed using a base color enhanced with metal pigments in the form of a fleck, powder or paste. The more metal pigment that is used, the more coarse the finish.
Taking the traditional decorating techniques to another level, we explored applying metallic ink enhanced with screened texture to the metal surface. The combination of inks and the aluminum substrate create a bead blasted surface that maintains a natural metal sheen. Depth of texture is customizable to create refined to rugged looks. Transparent tints of color can be added for custom color matches.
These are just a few examples of options that exist to explore with a bead blasted aluminum look. Popular colors for metallic inks are silver, gray and gold. However, nearly any color could be interpreted and developed as a metallic ink. Metallic surfaces can work well for two-tone looks on nameplates, badges and labels or incorporated into functional trim pieces.
How will you use a blasted finish in your next design? Let's talk!
