HOW IS WROUGHT IRON PATIO FURNITURE MADE?
Wrought means “produced or shaped by beating with a hammer” which sounds like a great way to get my husband to shape up. I’m joking of course, hammers have no place in relationships, but they do have a place in the manufacturing of wrought iron furniture (The Modesto Wrought Iron Dining Chair by Woodard is pictured right as an example). View the full line of Wrought Iron Patio Furniture from Family Leisure here.
Wrought iron furniture is actually steel, which is a combination of two elements, iron and carbon. Higher quality wrought iron furniture will be manufactured from steel with higher carbon content. The steel is processed in two ways, either in rods or in sheets. The rods are bent and hammered to make the frames of tables and chairs. Sheets are rolled out and, traditionally, thousands of holes are punched into the metal. The sheet is stretched to make mesh and is cut into various shapes for table tops and seats and backs of chairs.
Wrought iron is a great material for outdoor furniture, despite potential rust issues. High quality wrought iron furniture utilizes an epoxy or zinc primer to inhibit rust, and if there is some corrosion, it is easily sanded away and spray painted. Wrought Iron Patio Furniture and Twinkies will be the only survivors of a nuclear holocaust.
FUN FACT – China is the largest producer of steel in the world.
POWDER COAT IT PLEASE
Most metal patio furniture, including wrought iron patio furniture, is powder-coated, a common process used to apply paint. Impact and chemical resistant, there is no other finish that is more durable, making it the perfect application for patio furniture (the powder-coated Valencia Dining Collection by Woodard is pictured right as an example).
Remember those cardboard toys that featured the round head of a man with a big red nose? His face is under a plastic cover and inside the cover are metal shavings. With the help of a handy-dandy magnetic wand, you can transform the shavings into the guy’s hair, beard, sideburns and mustache. The way those metal shavings respond to that magnetic wand is similar to the painting process of powder-coating.
The powder-coating, which looks just like it sounds, is electrically charged. The furniture frame also receives a dose of electricity. 
When the powder is sprayed, it adheres to the metal frame, where it stays until the furniture is put into a curing oven. After the powder-coating is applied, the frame is literally baked in a very high temperature oven, where the powder-coating liquefies and bakes onto the metal frame (the Cromwell Sling Dining Collection by Woodard is pictured left as an example).
All powder-coating is not the same; depending upon the manufacturer, metal frames can be put through an intensive prep process prior to powder-coating. The cleaner the frame, the better the paint adheres. More upscale manufacturers use no “recycled” powder; they also apply a thicker coating than the value or bargain manufacturers.
FUN FACT – Laser printers use the same technology as powder-coating. Toner particles are attracted by an electrostatic charge and that is set with heat.
