Kynar/Hylar Special Colors

ISSUE

In some cases, despite Classic Products’ wide variety of standard colors, customers have a need for special colors.

ANALYSIS

There are several issues in achieving special colors. First, the color must be matched. Second, Classic Products’ suppliers require minimum orders for special colors. Third, some colors may require exotic pigments or other things that make them much more costly than other paints. Fourth, when Classic Products orders painted metal, we must over-order to allow for the facts that industry tolerances for yield, as well as potential production problems in along the way, could result in our receiving less metal than we order. Finally, time must be allowed for the color to be matched, the paint to be produced, the metal to be painted, and the final product to be fabricated from that metal.

SOLUTION

Classic Products has negotiated several workable solutions with our suppliers. Paint suppliers have some standard colors formulated which might meet our customers’ needs and speed up the matching process (but still not avoid extra cost). Colors that are very vibrant (particularly reds, blues, and purples) are considered “exotic” and can carry extra costs of 10-20% based upon pigment expense. In order to avoid extra costs from the coil coater, we must purchase metal for at least 200 squares of product at a time. We will not order special colors until we know exactly what is required for the project. We will then over-order by as much as 20% to allow for problems with yield or other things. The total time required to achieve a custom color is 8-12 weeks in most cases. As long as the matched color does not involve an upcharge for exotic pigments, the extra charge for special colors is usually $2000-$2500 on orders for 200 squares or more and $2500-$3000 on orders for 100-200 squares. Obtaining special colors in smaller quantities would require the customer to purchase a substantial amount of extra metal. Classic Products will gladly work closely with you through every step of requiring a special color if your customer requires it.

Persons with interest in special ThermoBond colors should reference Technical Bulletin #32.