STANDART® PREMIOR Gold powders are a new addition to the ECKART range. How did the product development come about?
Voit: The market for extremely luxurious gold coatings is growing rapidly worldwide. Particularly in interior applications, especially in the field of interior design and furnishings, we see great potential worldwide. The challenge for us as a pigment manufacturer was to develop an easy-to-process pigment that combines high opacity with extreme brilliance and is suitable for both wood and plastic applications.
Why is high opacity important?
Eckersley: The higher the opacity, the fewer coats of varnish you need to apply and the more brilliant the shine. With our STANDART® PREMIOR Gold pigments, one coat of paint applied after priming is enough to create a unique, absolutely luxurious gold shine. This applies equally to industrial application using a spray gun and to do-it-yourself processes using sprays.
The PREMIOR pigments are leafing pigments. Does this property play a role in the function?
Voit: A very important one, in fact. Thanks to the leafing properties, the pigments orient themselves on the surface of the coating and thus optimally reflect the incident light. The gold bronze powders consist of relatively coarse cornflake particles; this enhances the leafing effects and at the same time supports the opacity.
What was the challenge in developing the new powders?
Eckersley: To achieve the desired effects - brilliance plus opacity - other production processes were necessary. We therefore optimized our traditional processes especially for these gold cornflakes, improving both the grinding and polishing processes. In addition, we have precisely coordinated these two processes. In the course of our optimization measures, it also turned out that we can completely dispense with lubricants containing animal fats. This elimination, or rather the use of vegetable fats, is an important asset for marketing.
Which markets are you thinking of - are brilliant gold coatings a lifestyle product?
Voit: That's one way of looking at it. Gilded furniture and other accessories are an absolute must-have in many regions to document personal wealth, success and social advancement. This includes the Arabian Peninsula as well as Egypt, India, China, Russia and the Caucasus. Many end customers in these regions are Muslims and, for religious reasons, attach importance to products that do not contain animal-based lubricants. We tailor our marketing to these target groups. By the way, this starts with the packaging.
What do you mean?
Eckersley: The STANDART® PREMIOR powders are supplied in sheet steel drums, in which a lightweight PE bag is inserted. This has advantages in terms of environmentally friendly disposal or reuse of the drums.
Voit: It also has great advantages for presentation. You can display the gold powders openly, like in a bazaar. That's exactly what our customers do, for example in Egypt, where there are entire cities that specialize in the production of gold-plated furniture. There, buyers can choose pigments based on look and feel when deciding on a paint finish. We find that our product presentation is very well received there.
How durable are gold coatings?
Voit: That depends on the type and quality of care. In fact, at some point many end customers feel the need to freshen up the shine and reach for the spray can themselves. That is precisely why we have also designed our STANDART® PREMIOR pigments for do-it-yourself applications and market them accordingly to paint manufacturers. In this market segment, we see other areas of application besides furniture.
Which ones do you mean?
Voit: We're thinking of decorations and other accessories that are in vogue at traditional festivals, such as the Golden Weeks in China or Joyalukkas Diwali Gold Festival in India. In both cultures, consumers there are getting decidedly creative these days when it comes to paying their respects with gifts for each other during private festivities. Gold coatings with our pigments can support these trends.
