Frequently Asked Questions

We serve commercial construction, including office buildings, stadiums, healthcare facilities, hospitality/casinos, transportation hubs, and civic/cultural buildings. Our primary customers are aluminum extruders, panel fabricators, glazing contractors, and curtainwall manufacturers.

We have coated projects for customers throughout North America and the Caribbean. Customers arrange delivery to and pickup from our Youngstown, Ohio facility, located just off the Ohio Turnpike (I-80/90), one hour from Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

Spectrum Metal Finishing was founded in 1993 by Neil Chrisman, who brought 18 years of PPG experience. We're now a second-generation family business with over 30 years of architectural coating expertise.

We can coat parts up to 33 feet long, 72 inches high, and 30 inches deep. This is the largest capacity in the region—within 500 miles. This allows us to handle full-length curtainwall mullions and large panel systems that other finishers can't accommodate.

Yes, we're one of the few architectural finishers offering both liquid (Kynar/PVDF) and powder coating under one roof. This simplifies coordination for projects requiring mixed specifications.

We primarily coat aluminum alloys including 6063, 6061, 3003, 5005, and 5052. Contact us for other materials—we may be able to accommodate them with adjusted pretreatment processes.

We use a 7-stage full-immersion pretreatment system: caustic cleaner, city water rinse, acid cleaner, city water rinse, chrome phosphate conversion coating, city water rinse, and RO water rinse, followed by dry-off oven. Full immersion (vs. spray-only) provides superior surface preparation for coating adhesion.

We offer several specialty finish options including effects coatings (color-shifting finishes like Sherwin Williams Nova and Kameleon), terra cotta coatings in both glazed (powder) and textured (liquid) finishes, spattercoat multi-color finishes that replicate stone and natural materials, metallic finishes, and matte finishes. Contact us to discuss your project's aesthetic requirements.

Yes. We can match aluminum finishes to adjacent GFRC panels using powder coating, or develop custom spattercoat formulations to match stone, brick, and granite. For terra cotta finishes, we offer custom color matching beyond standard earth tones. Provide a physical sample or detailed specification and we'll create a matching finish.

We're certified to apply coatings meeting AAMA 2603 (standard), 2604 (high performance), and 2605 (superior performance) specifications. Most of our architectural work is 2604 or 2605.

Warranty duration depends on the coating system and AAMA specification. AAMA 2605 fluoropolymer coatings carry warranties up to 20 years. We provide written warranty documentation with each project.

Spectrum is a certified applicator for Sherwin Williams, PPG, Akzo Nobel, Tiger Drylac, IFS, and Axalta. For liquid coatings, Sherwin Williams and PPG are our primary partners. These partnerships ensure access to the highest-quality architectural coating systems with full manufacturer support and warranty backing.

Kynar 500® (Arkema) and Hylar 5000® (Solvay) are resin trademarks, not coating manufacturer certifications. We are certified applicators for coating manufacturers including Sherwin Williams and PPG who formulate coatings using these resins. This means we have the training, equipment, and quality systems to properly apply PVDF-based coatings that meet AAMA 2605 specifications.

Yes, we can match virtually any color. Provide a physical sample, color chip, or manufacturer color code. Custom color matching typically adds 1-2 weeks to the schedule for color development and approval samples.

Powder coating is typically 1-2 weeks from material receipt. Liquid coating is typically 3-4 weeks. Custom colors may add additional time. Contact us with your timeline requirements.

Interleave parts with paper or foam to prevent surface contact. Use foam end caps on extrusions. Bundle securely with strapping and edge protectors. Wrap in plastic for moisture protection. See our Material Guidelines page for details.

We need: part drawings (PDFs), quantities, coating specification (AAMA tier), color information (manufacturer and color code), and timeline requirements. More complete submittals result in faster, more accurate quotes.

Yes, we can provide approval samples before full production runs. For custom colors, samples are part of our standard process. For standard colors, samples are available upon request.

We offer several packaging options: expanding foam systems for custom protection, wooden crating with internal bracing, interleaving between parts, and secure bundling. Packaging is tailored to part geometry and shipping requirements.