Hard Fired Enamel
The areas that are colored are overfilled with enamel, and then the badges are “baked” to harden – to a nearly ceramic hardness. They are then ground/polished flat, and then plated with the metal. To the touch, letters are flush with the metal/surface and smooth.
Hard fired enamel is standard with our high end badges (HiGlo®, RhoGlo®, Two Tone, VHB KK).The consistent, striking beauty of hard-fired enamel is created by hand using a painstaking procedure. Natural colors found in mineral substances are ground into a fine powder, moistened to proper consistency, then delicately placed by hand into each individual letter. After being fired in 1,400° ovens, the enamel is stoned flush with the surrounding metal areas.
There are 17 additional steps in the hard enamel process as compared to the other color techniques. Because of these additional steps, and the curing involved, a hard enamel badge takes 5 business days longer to manufacturer. Hard-fired enamel is standard with our high-end badges, Hi-Glo®, Rho-Glo®, Two Tone, and VHB Karat Klad.