How Tin Ceiling Tiles Are Made
Our particular process has helped us maintain authentic quality and beloved patterns over many years. If you'd like to see how tin ceiling tiles are made and how we are able to continue to provide classic tin tiles at the right price, read on.
We Use Large Coil Stock From US Steel
Based in Pittsburg, PA, US Steel manufactures a wide range of value-added steel sheet and tubular products for the automotive, appliance, container, industrial machinery, construction, and oil and gas industries. They primarily operate in the United States, Canada and Central Europe and have an annual raw steelmaking capability of 29.3 million tons.
We have developed a great relationship with them over the years so we are able to negotiate the lowest cost of raw materials for you. They cut the coil and ship it to our manufacturing and design plant in Bradenton, FL.
Using materials produced or distributed close to home decreases our carbon footprint and decreases our cost—a savings we pass on to you.
Our Craftspeople Stamp and Color the Metal
The 24" x 24" tin tiles are stamped and embossed by passing through one of the three presses on site. The pattern molds are interchangable and added to the presses for each run of tin tile. After the tin is pressed to goes on to be colored and finished. Unfinished tin tiles are popular and are ready at this point because they have no color or finish.
If a tile is purchased in a color, the panels are then sent through one of the powder coating lines and baked in an oven. Our finishes offer a variety of superior quality colors not offered by other manufacturers. We have developed our own custom formulated colors and antiquing methods from industry leaders like Dupont, Tiger DryLac and TCI that you won’t find anywhere else. These are a part of our Artisan color collection.
Powder coating is a polyester resin with pigment, and occasionally pulverized metal, which is electrostatically charged with opposing currents and sprayed onto the panels. Using electricity ensures the product surface is evenly coated with long lasting adhesion.
The coated tiles are hung on a conveyer belt and run through an automatic powder booth, where spray guns are used to apply powder onto the panels. Once the color is on, they are put into a 400-450 degree oven. The powder coating melts and bakes on to the tiles. Each tin tile is finished with a protective coating to make it more durable.
The level of human interaction in the making of our tin ceiling tiles ensures you get a truly unique product unlike any other. Our products are the real thing; just like the tin tiles of the turn of the century. Even with all this hands-on process, we have been able to keep our cost low by keeping it simple. Our presses don't require the same maintenance as higher-tech machinery, further saving you money.
We Develop Relationships with Shipping Companies
Orders are shipped by a variety of carriers depending on your location, and the size of the order. We ship globally and offer the best prices available. We are able to negotiate lower shipping rates through large volume. Once again, we pass our savings on to you so we can keep your price low on a top-quality product.
How we make tin ceiling tiles plays a big part in the superior quality and durability of the product. We always (and will continue to) strive to maintain the highest quality at competitive prices. Want to know more about American Tin Ceilings and how we make tin ceiling tiles?