Teak, crafts and innovation

GLOSTER MATERIALS: POWDER COATED ALUMINUM

Throughout all Gloster collections, the goal of achieving the highest level of outdoor function and attention-grabbing style is ubiquitous. For a large percentage of our furniture, the material of powder coated aluminum is a significant contributor towards the adherence to this standard. What is it about this material makes it such an ideal candidate to use for outdoor furniture, and how does Gloster ensure that our powder coated aluminum outdoor furniture is constructed to the highest standards of form and function?

As design trends in the late 1990s and early 2000s were transitioning away from traditional all-teak styling, clients and designers held a growing interest in new, innovative materials used in outdoor furniture. In order to stay ahead of the tides of shifting tastes and styles, Gloster began to incorporate a material that would eventually be regarded as essential for many of our products: powder coated aluminum. Able to be incorporated seamlessly into sleek, contemporary, modern styles of furniture design, this material soon became a foundational aspect of many pieces of Gloster’s catalogue.

Azore Lounger.

Easy incorporation into the new stylistic elements quickly asserting preeminence in Gloster’s catalogue was not the only factor that led to the wide use of this material in our products—the performance properties of powder coated aluminum also helped make it an absolutely ideal material for this purpose. Aluminum alone is a light and tough material with an excellent strength to weight ratio and corrosion resistance ability. It is also a highly malleable material, with different parts of our furniture utilizing both extrusion and casting techniques of aluminum production to seamlessly conjoin important joints and structures. However, the production process Gloster subjects standard aluminum to in order to transform it into a final product is what truly makes this material one of a kind.

The process of powder coating aluminum is surprisingly a lengthy affair. To start, aluminum material which will eventually form the frames of our furniture is sanded down thoroughly and immersed in a series of chemical baths in order to clean and degrease it before the next production stage. Once this process is complete, the aluminum receives a boost to its already formidable corrosion resistance with a treatment of chrome conversion coating, which acts as a bulwark against any weather-related deterioration. The next stage in the process is the one which produces our finished material’s signature look: powder coat paint—infused with an electrostatic charge opposite that which is created in the aluminum—is applied to the entire surface of the frame. In addition to ensuring that 100% of the frame is covered, this electrostatic process also produces a harder and thicker covering than standard paint, leaving the final product as a scratch resistant, moisture impervious, corrosion resistant, and easy-to-clean step up from conventionally painted materials. To finalize the process, powder coated frames are slid into an oven running at 200° Celsius, or nearly 400° Fahrenheit.

Top to Bottom;  Dune, 180 and Split.

Powder coated aluminum has come to be included on all types of Gloster products, ranging across styles, functions, and product categories. Whether serving as the table base for a teak-topped Carver table or ceramic Split set, the frames of lounge collections like Dune or 180, or as the foundation to the personality of many Gloster accessory pieces, this material has risen to prominence as an essential pillar of the striking, contemporary styling of the modern Gloster catalogue.