Metalier is a decorative liquid metal coating system made with real metal.
That sounds simple. But the material itself is only the beginning.
A finished Metalier surface is the combination of two things: the Metalier coating system and the expertise of the person who applies it.
Real metal, in a different form
Metalier coatings contain finely ground real metal powders combined with a water-based binder system. Once applied, the surface can be polished, textured, aged or patinated much like solid metal.
The result has the depth, variation and tactile character of real metal, but without many of the fabrication constraints associated with metal sheet or cast metal.
Because it is a coating, Metalier can be applied to an extraordinary range of substrates and forms, from furniture and joinery to walls, architectural features, complex curves and sculptural surfaces.
The material is only the beginning
Metalier has a range of Signature Finishes, but these are examples of what the system can achieve rather than a catalogue of fixed outcomes.
The same metal can look dramatically different depending upon the way it is applied and finished.
Colour, texture, polishing, patination, layering and the hand of the applicator all influence the final surface.
This is one of the qualities that makes liquid metal so interesting for designers. Rather than choosing only from predetermined finishes, a designer can work with an experienced applicator to develop a surface that responds to a particular project.
Expertise creates the finish
Working successfully with liquid metal requires more than applying a product.
Experienced applicators understand how the material behaves, how different substrates affect the result, how to develop samples, how to interpret a designer’s intent and how polishing, texture and patination can change the character of the metal.
They are not simply applying the final finish. They are often helping to create it.
That expertise is why two applicators can begin with the same Metalier material and produce very different results.
Metalier is the material. Expertise creates the finish.
So what do we mean by Authentic Metalier?
Authentic Metalier brings together the genuine Metalier coating system with the knowledge and skill required to turn that material into a successful finished surface.
Around the world, Metalier works with specialist applicators who bring their own experience, creativity and craftsmanship to the system.
Their work need not look alike.
In fact, that is rather the point.
A Metalier finish can be subtle or dramatic, highly polished or deeply textured, contemporary or aged, controlled or deliberately organic.
The material provides the possibilities.