Hi Kimberly, congrats on your commission. I have a lot of rails powdercoated and like the results quite a bit considering how economical it is. Definitely research the colors they have and what your trying to achieve. There are some new colors that look a lot like raw burnished steel which might be the way to go. They look great, there just uniform which the color of steel isn't, but you could always accent/distress with guilders paste or something. They usually wash the metal with a chemical before applying the powder which discolors the metal a bit. It gives it an amber like appearance if you go with clear over raw steel. This wash also starts the rusting process so it's important they don't let it sit for a while after washing. Since it's inside you can ask them to wipe it with MEK instead which won't discolor the material and you'll have a nice steel color(usually glossy). Will it be blasted or wire brushed at all? If so you'll have to arrange the timing so the piece doesn't sit and wait for it's turn.

I like the two companies here a lot, but the one thing you have to remember is that they spend all day messing with large quantities of the same part being coated. If one gets dinged up, they just throw it away or coat it again. Usually the person coating your piece is not the person you talked to, so it's best to try to make it as idiot proof as you can. They're a factory not an artisan shop, so communication is a must. Don't assume they're going to treat the rail like you would. With clear you only get one shot, or it has to be blasted again. Colors they can usually re-shoot right over the last coat if there is a problem, which is usually why I try colors first.

Since they bake the pieces in an oven to coat them, all tubing mush be vented in order to prevent gassing out. The tubes usually gain moisture during the washing and will create bubbles as they boil out in the oven. I usually put a 3/16" hole in the bottom of any sealed tube or space so that it will vent and drain, but not be visible when you look at the rail. You'll want to think about this as you work up your plans, because sometimes you can't get to the spot needing venting after it's put together. You'll also want to create places for them to hang the rail from otherwise you'll end up with hook marks buried in your coating, which sucks.

Once you get your design call them up and talk over the project. Together you should be able to figure out the best place to vent and hang.

Post some picts as your go, We'd all love to see it.

Jake

Wow thanks for all that great information!

I am thinking of talking to them about not powder coating since it will be inside, however........if we do.......I think that a 'textured color' might be a good way to go....something similar to natural.

You mention hanging the rails.....hmmmmm.......I was going to put holes in the base for it to be bolted into the floor. Two sections will be able to be bolted to side walls, and one section will be standing alone and I am thinking that bolting it into the floor will be enough.....?

Hi Kimberly, sorry I haven't checked my posts in a while, otherwise I would have responded earlier. When i was talking about hanging it was for the powdercoaters. They hang all of the pieces getting coated and if you don't provide them a place to hang from, they'll make that decision for you(not a good idea). The textured powder is a good idea. The smoother and glossier the powdercoat, the more imperfections show up(not that I assume you're going to have any). When light bounces off some glossy black finish, you can see dents, scratches, grind marks, etc pretty easily.

As for bolting it into the floor alone, that kind of depends on the strength of the vertical posts and the size of the base plates. Rails are meant to be leaned on, so make sure you've got long and strong fasteners or decent sized base plates. For my out door dining rails, I use a 5" or 6" square base plate and get almost no wobble, but that sounds a little big for indoors. Can you cut holes in the floors and tie the posts into the joists? You can use a shoe on the post to hide the hole and it makes for a strong and stable connection.

Jake