Bill Shalosky Talks About Fordite

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mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast

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Pretty cool. Thanks for sharing.

 

bigpond

Lifer
Oct 14, 2014
2,019
13
You can find fordite jewelry at a few of the farmers markets near me. It's beautiful stuff. Auto body paints contain toluene, xylene, and isocyanates and I would want to explore if these are an issue (no idea, really) for a pipe stem.

 
Hey cool! I work with Fordite occasionally. It's in the rare materials category, because of the limited availability of actual Ford assembly line paint skims. Because of the high prices (upwards of $50 a gram for this material) now, there are plenty of copycat Fordite material out there. People are raiding paint bays in body shops across the country to sell counterfeit junk. And, so few people know the Ford yearly Pantone charts well enough to detect fake stuff.
I don't work with it much, because it is so expensive for just a hunk of paint. I get asked to make things from it often, but then when I tell people the cost, they generally just stop talking to me, ha ha. A single cab of true Fordite can run into the $100's. Of course the fake stuff is much cheaper by a few bucks, but if you want fake Fordite, why not just buy some pretty plastic.
Bowling ball cabs are the current trend for non-gemstone materials. Those pretty glittery bowling balls from the 80's.

 

jvnshr

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 4, 2015
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Baku, Azerbaijan
Bigpond, I might be wrong but I don't think they are used as a stem material. Sorry for my mistake, I wanted to ask "I just wonder what happens when the shank warms up. May it become toxic?".

 

jvnshr

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 4, 2015
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Wow, thanks for the info, Cosmic. Does aging or Ford brand have to do something with the price? I mean can't you just paint a metal several times and obtain it? Sorry if it sounds stupid :roll:

 

darwin

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 9, 2014
820
5
"...can't you just paint a metal several times and obtain it?"
Well if you wanted to paint the metal a few hundred times then wait a few decades for it to harden completely then yeah you could duplicate it.

 
The reason it is so expensive is because it is a very rare (limited) material, real Fordite came when the renovated the paint bays at Ford in Detroit about ten years back. All of the Fordite that was scraped off the bays is all that there is in the universe. So, it became collectible. But, as prices rose and people started seeing green, they started stripping body shop paint bays across the country. But, the real car enthusiast that know to check Pantone color charts for Ford specific colors, know that there is a real difference.

True Fordite is sold by only one guy in Detroit, which can sell for up to $100 a gram. It is light material though, so it still bring a cabochon in for less than most gemstones. Anything you see on ebay or elsewhere is worthless paint bay scrapings. But, most of these sellers are lacking scruples and calling it Fordite anyways. But, good luck to them. Buyers are suckers for paying anything over a dollar for one of those. I can get you a box full of normal paint bay scrapings for free. Only a true car enthusiast would pay top dollar prices and they know to check the Pantones.
Sure, someone could just paint a rock. But, would you want to wear a painted rock? Jewelry usually has meaning for the person wearing it. Either to enhance their appearance, show off their wealth, signify that they "belong" to some group, or to display something intrinsic or inherent about themselves. I have set everything from a chip of someone's grandma's fine china in 18k that has a special significance for that person, to obscenely huge rubies into ugly cheap 10k settings. If someone is willing to pay me to make it, I will make it. It just depends on how much it is worth to you.

 

jvnshr

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 4, 2015
4,616
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Baku, Azerbaijan
Well if you wanted to paint the metal a few hundred times then wait a few decades for it to harden completely then yeah you could duplicate it.
Darwin, I work in a Chevrolet dealer and to dry the paint on a car we just need the vehicle to stay inside a paint booth overnight in which 30.000 m3 warm air circulates per hour. To completely harden the paint you would just need 30 days. So a small metal with the few layers of paint on it won't take so much time.

 

jvnshr

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 4, 2015
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Baku, Azerbaijan
real Fordite came when the renovated the paint bays at Ford in Detroit about ten years back. All of the Fordite that was scraped off the bays is all that there is in the universe. So, it became collectible. But, as prices rose and people started seeing green, they started stripping body shop paint bays across the country.
Got it now, thanks.

 

jvnshr

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 4, 2015
4,616
3,868
Baku, Azerbaijan
I've seen Chevite being sold at gem shows, but I have no idea what the popularity is. You could get a jewelry set made with the paint to match your car/truck. :puffy:
Do they have Volkswagenite (that's what I drive)? :) Volkswagenite, that sounds weird.

 

bigpond

Lifer
Oct 14, 2014
2,019
13
He just uses the material as an accent ring. Looks great too!
Yes, you need to click a bloody link

https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/Bill-Shalosky/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=218244
The fordite is lovely here, the pipe on the other hand....well, the briar portion looks like it's almost as nice as a sub $100 Tsuge, the stem-work looks really good though.

Sidebar: what's up with this guys pipes?

 

texmexpipe

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 20, 2014
998
246
Very interesting and cool bit of knowledge. I love this sort of thing! My wife calls me the purveyor of useless knowledge. Thanks for posting!

 
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