Following Hamilton Litestat sponsoring a session at Hotel Designs LIVE, we take a look at the expanded Paintables service that delivers highly durable, colour-matched wiring accessories with accurate colour reproduction…
Consumer demand for personalisation continues to grow in all aspects of our lives. Today there is an expectation that products and services will meet our exact needs – if an available solution doesn’t tick all our boxes, we want to customise it simply and cost-effectively and make it our own. And if that’s not possible, we’ll find another supplier that can make it happen. Hamilton Litestat provides bespoke solutions to fulfil these customer demands, including its popular Paintables colour-matching service.
Accessories can be painted to blend in with a colour taken from a wallpaper, or to contrast it with a hue from the room’s soft furnishings. Popular colours are heavily influenced by the paint manufacturers, so Dulux’s Colour for 2021, Brave Ground, is set to have a major impact on the finish of wiring accessories in current interior design schemes. The company is giving the designer the ability to make every flick of a switch feel unique while ensuring ease-of-ordering and minimal hassle for wholesalers and installers.
“We pride ourselves on going the extra mile to ensure a client’s vision can be executed, and our Paintables service is helping deliver that with accurate colour matching to interior design schemes,” explains Gavin Williams, Sales & Marketing Director at Hamilton. “Today, people expect options to be tailored to them rather than selecting off-the-shelf solutions, and Paintables delivers that experience in a simple and cost-effective solution. We’ve seen demand double in the past 18 months, and to keep ahead of the market have increased our capacity for this service at our Bristol facilities.”
Image caption: Paintables Service Hotels by Hamilton Litestat
Hamilton has long offered colour-matched switch plates and sockets from its factory at Mere but with this rapidly rising demand it has relocated and doubled the size of its Paintables Department, which now sits at its headquarters in Bristol, delivering a 40 per cent reduction in current lead times.
The Paintables service is a powder coating process and is available on Hamilton’s popular and versatile Hartland CFX and Sheer CFX designer plate collections, which offer a wide range of functionality and configuration options. So, whether a customer wants a USB switched socket in BS 114 Rail Blue, so it blends seamlessly with a deep on-trend wall colour, or a Wide Rocker Switch in RAL 6000, a leafy green to complement a jungle mural feature wall, it’s possible quickly, simply, and cost-effectively.
Colour selection
For accurate colour matching Hamilton recommends using colour reference systems RAL, British Standards or the Natural Colour System. While Pantone is often a go-to system, its accuracy is limited in metal powder coating applications, so all Pantone colour-matching requests need to be individually accessed to avoid disappointment.
Image credit: Hamilton Litestat
Yet with RAL having 1,625 options and the Natural Colour System having 1,950, customers will not be short on colour choices! In addition to the vast colour possibilities, Hamilton’s Paintables solution is available in gloss, matt, and even a metallic finish.
“Colour influences our emotions and behaviours, so getting the right colour scheme and coordinating accessories and soft furnishings is really important. After the difficult times we’ve faced lately, there’s a great craving for change and to get away from our daily routines. Colour can help us reset, recharge and refocus, and Paintables wiring accessories can ensure that these schemes are cohesive and personalised to the customer’s exact colour requirements.”
FREE production service
All of Hamilton’s wiring accessories receive a decorative coating of some kind – whether that’s to achieve a standard Matt Black option or a metallic finish such as Antique Brass. For bespoke, colour-matched Paintables finishes, the cost of the spray coating process is already considered, so Hamilton only charges for the dry powder coating required. Purchased in bulk, this means that on-trend colour requests may be very competitively priced due to market demand.
“Many orders we receive from wholesalers are bespoke, so thanks to our expanded Paintables capacity we can provide colour-matched finishes with minimal impact on anticipated lead times,” explains Williams. “Moreover, as we already take into account the spray coating process in the unit price, the cost implications are minimised. Although niche colours may have a minimum purchase quantity, we can offer more popular colours cost effectively.”
Flawless finish
The Paintables powder coating results in a high-quality finish, ensuring the paint adheres evenly and the colour is consistent. It is resistant to chipping, scratching, and fading, which is particularly important for these high-wear wiring accessories.
Powder coating makes use of pigment and resin that are statically charged and sprayed onto the electrically grounded surfaces of the wiring solutions. The paint coating is then cured in an oven, resulting in a finish that is far more durable than other paint options.
Should it not be possible to select a colour ahead of time, Hamilton also supplies primed plates for painting on site. While not as durable as they haven’t been cured, they provide a flexible alternative for achieving the colour-matched aesthetic.
Hamilton Litestat, which was a Session Sponsor at Hotel Designs LIVE, is one of our Recommended Suppliers and regularly features in our Supplier News section of the website. If you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, please email Katy Phillips.
Main image credit: Hamilton Litestat
