Liquid coating is one of the most recent processes at MCS, born as a complementary process for the finishing of certain parts of the product.
However, the desire to provide impeccable service in every situation has led to the search for the best finish for the various application areas.
In 2022 the plant was enlarged to offer a greater number of customers the opportunity to customize their products with high-quality technical and aesthetic finishes.
Liquid coating is a process that allows to achieve resistant and high-quality finishes. Initially this type of coating was managed only if requested by customers, relying on an external subcontractor.
It happened that we were asked to supply already coated products: these were mostly display frames, enclosures made of plastic carpentry or milled from solid material.
Our subcontractor was good from an “operational and practical” point of view, but much less so when it came to consistency in the process and document conformity.
A pure varnisher, in fact, beyond the job well done and the chromatic and finishing correspondence, is sometimes not aware that in certain markets or applications, changing “a comma” can lead to disastrous effects.
Changing a brand or a type of paint, even with the same finish, can result in chemical incompatibility with the silkscreen printing or digital inks we use, or a different chemical resistance to alcohol-based detergents, for example in the medical sector.
Furthermore, some difficulties often arose from process problems. In a production it is normal to find some defective piece: the management of the return, the dispute and the repair of the object led to organizational problems and delays with the customer.
Evolution and challenges of the liquid coating process
To develop internally a liquid coating process we have adopted, as always, a technical and R&D approach identifying the best finish, but above all compatible with the chemistry of the inks we use in the processes of digital printing and silkscreen printing.
The first tests were carried out by renting the coating booth from our coachbuilder friends, our shed neighbours.
As the results were immediately very good and therefore, we decided in 2014 to recover an existing environment in our building to build the first industrial coating booth. Later this plant was moved and enlarged in 2022.
We presented this liquid coating service gradually, considering it at the beginning a complementary process, useful for finishing only some parts we made. Now, however, it has become a full-time resource, which is used for the aesthetic completion of all the enclosures we make.
It is certainly a critical process that requires the safe use of chemical products, specific emission management, disposal of hazardous waste, etc. However, thanks to our experience in the management of silkscreen printing products and processes, we have managed to deal with these critical issues with relative ease.
Wealth of applications and finishes of liquid coating
Liquid coating has a wide range of applications: from enclosures for electronics in plastic carpentry or machined from solid, to frames for display in plastic or aluminium.
It is also a process used to aesthetically finish all objects made with 3D printing. Finally, with the liquid finishing, conductive coating is applied to the plastic materials for (EMI-ESD) shielding, in order to protect the electronic components from electromagnetic interference and electrostatic discharges.
The coatings we use often come from the automotive interior and small appliance industry.
Thanks to the wide range of colours and textures available, it is possible to create unique aesthetic solutions, capable of satisfying the needs of each of our customers.
In particular, we like matte finishes with fine texturing. We often match them in contrast to glossy finishes, obtaining a technical and elegant aesthetic effect.
Liquid coating not only improves the aesthetic performance of a product, but can help to differentiate it on the market and increase its added value.