DEMO — fictional range. Local brief only, NOT SENT. No personal data is collected or transmitted.
FINISH
Outdoors, the finish is the protection.
A garden finish is chosen for what it resists and then for how it looks. Chosen the other way round it becomes an expensive way to hide a material that will not last.
- Mill zinc
- Left as formed · weathers to a stable grey, no coating to chip
- Powder coated
- Coloured metal · a film over the metal, and a chip is a starting point
- UV stabilised, moulded
- The colour is in the material, so a scratch does not show
- Painted moulding
- A film over the polymer · cheaper, and it flakes at the edges
- Tumbled brass
- Fittings · a soft sheen, tarnishes to a stable surface
- Sealed terracotta
- Pots and weights · the seal is what keeps water out of the body
Illustrative finish reference
| Finish | Typical use | How it fails |
|---|---|---|
| Mill zinc | Outdoor cans and fittings | Surface staining, then a stable grey |
| Powder coat | Brackets and posts | A chip lets rust spread under the film |
| In-material colour | Reels and caddies | Fades slowly, never flakes |
| Painted moulding | Lower-cost ranges | Flakes at the edges and the handle |
Why colour in the material is worth paying for.
Because it cannot flake. A moulded product that is coloured throughout can be scratched and still look right, where a painted one shows every knock at the edges.
The one worth avoiding.
A painted moulding on a product that is handled wet. The film lifts at the edges, and the edges are exactly where the product is gripped.