How to Care for Your Atelier Article Piece

Every piece from our workshop is finished with powder coating — a dry paint process cured under heat that produces a surface harder and more consistent than conventional paint. It gives each piece its color and protects the steel underneath. Transparent powder coating is the exception: it lets the raw metal show through. But most of our pieces wear color, and the coating is the reason they hold it.

Day-to-day care

A dry cloth is enough. Dust settles on flat surfaces — bookends, letter holders, the rails of a record cart. Wipe it off. That is the full routine for a piece kept in normal living conditions.

What to avoid

Abrasive materials — scouring pads, rough sponges, steel wool — scratch the coating surface and break it down over time. Harsh chemical cleaners do the same from the inside: bleach, ammonia-based sprays, anything solvent-based.

Excessive water and prolonged humidity are the other risk. Powder coating is water-resistant, not waterproof. In normal use this is not a problem. But leaving a piece where water pools, or placing it in a high-humidity room long-term, will eventually find any weakness in the coating. Where the coating is compromised, moisture reaches the steel underneath.

For stubborn marks

A cloth lightly dampened with water and a small amount of mild dish soap. Wipe, then dry immediately. Do not soak, do not scrub.

If the coating chips

A sharp impact can chip powder coating. If bare steel is exposed, the area can begin to oxidize. Touch-up paint in a matching color — available at any hardware store — applied carefully to the exposed area will stop it. For significant damage, contact us.