The decorative is never just decoration

Consulting on decorative surface treatment at Chem-Tec Plating

The end customer of a designer lamp never sees the metallurgy. She sees the surface. And she judges it in less than a second, with her eyes and fingertips, long before she thinks about what lies beneath. The German industrial designer Dieter Rams once formulated the principle that good design is thought through down to the smallest detail. On a decorative item, the surface is exactly where that principle either stands or falls.

That's why advice on decorative surface treatment at Chem-Tec Plating begins long before an item touches the first bath.

When your customer's customer is the most critical in the room

Common to Chem-Tec's customers in the decorative industries is that their own customers are very aware that the surface maintains the same high quality as the rest of the product. These are not mass-produced everyday items. These are large series of exclusive items: designer lamps, designer chairs and other designer furniture, and audio equipment for some of the world's most quality-conscious music fans.

For these types of products, the cosmetic appearance is paramount. A single visible flaw on one item in a series undermines the entire promise of quality the product is built on. The surface treatment is not the last thing the customer thinks about. It is one of the first things they notice.

This places demands on things that most other industries avoid. And that's one of the reasons why working with decorative items helps keep Chem-Tec's own focus on quality sharp. When the margin for error is so small, the discipline rubs off on everything else that leaves production.

“Decorative” is a misleading word

The word decorative sounds like it's just about looking good. It rarely does that alone.

A decorative surface often has practical tasks at the same time. Some items must be able to withstand frequent touching without changing their appearance. Others must protect the underlying metal, even when the primary benefit of the surface is design. Appearance is crucial, but durability comes with the same consideration.

On top of that comes the shape of the item itself. The geometry helps determine what can be done on the surface. A corner, an edge, a recess behave differently in a galvanic bath. Advising on a decorative surface is therefore rarely a simple choice. It is a balance between appearance and durability within what production can actually deliver consistently, item after item.

Here, two considerations that do not always pull in the same direction meet: the designer's intention and the physics of the metal. The consultation is the place where they reach agreement while there is still time to make adjustments.

Consulting that starts at the drawing board

Chem-Tec has been doing surface treatment since 1986. The very first order was gold plating of edge connectors on printed circuit boards. Since then, it has grown to 12 production lines and 3,600 square meters of production in Uldum, where a former dairy now houses galvanic and chemical processes as well as PVD coating.

The experience means that the advice can start early. Precisely because the surface matters so much to the end result, it pays to get involved with Chem-Tec already in the development process. The sales department works together with an experienced technician to point out the most suitable treatment, while the product can still be changed.

The questions that are most often clarified are specific:

• How the shape of the workpiece affects the surface treatment
• How thick should the coating be?
• Which coating is best suited for the purpose?

The decorative sector is one of four industry groups that Chem-Tec advises in, alongside electronics, the energy sector and mechanics. It is also the most appearance-sensitive of them, and the one where the eye is the strictest quality control.

For decorative items, Chem-Tec has a wide palette to advise on, and the choice usually follows the expression the design is intended to convey. Should the surface be matt and muted, dark and distinctive, or should it signal value with gold or silver? Pearlescent nickel, black chrome, black nickel, galvanic gold and silver, chrome plating and nickel plating are all part of the repertoire, and coatings can be combined when one layer cannot do it all on its own. That conversation about what the expression requires is precisely what the advice is about.

Quality is ensured before, during and after production. Whether it's a single item or thousands, well-trained employees keep scrap rates exceptionally low. It doesn't happen by itself. These are fixed procedures for precise and careful handling that employees are specialized in, precisely because the cosmetic appearance cannot tolerate sloppiness.

Chem-Tec's own quality policy states it in black and white: the company must provide qualified advice on which surface treatment is best suited for the purpose. The advice is not an extra service that is added on top. It is part of the quality.

Three things you can include in your next development project

If you are starting out with a decorative item yourself, there are a few things that pay off early on.

Involve Chem-Tec in the prototype phase. The surface treatment is easiest to optimize before the drawings are final. Once the geometry of the part is fixed, the chemical and galvanic options are significantly narrowed.

Don't treat "decorative" as synonymous with "merely cosmetic.". Think about the touch, wear and protection of the metal from the beginning, even when the main goal is to look good. That mistake is rarely discovered on the drawing, but always with the end customer.

Come up with the specific questions. The three above are a good start. They are the kind of things a technician can count on, and they are what determine whether the entire series ends up consistent.

Talk to us before the topic is locked.

If the advice comes in early, the surface stops being something you discover at the end and cross your fingers for. It becomes part of the design you have been counting on all along, and the series ends up being uniform from the first to the last item. As a total supplier, Chem-Tec takes responsibility for the processes up to the finished result and delivers door-to-door from Uldum to the rest of Denmark, the Nordic countries, Germany and the rest of Europe.

The best time to optimize a surface is before the drawing is locked. Call +45 75 67 92 92 or write to info@chemtec.dk.

Note: Chem-Tec Plating does not provide surface treatment services for private individuals. The advice is aimed at the professional market.