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Warren Scott
DURABLE COATING IN A VARIETY OF COLORS — Jamie and Jennifer Cline of Cline’s Powder Coating, a new Toronto business, stand in front of some of the many colors available in the durable coatings they can apply to vehicles and many other metallic items.
TORONTO — A Toronto business is offering a special coating designed to protect a variety of vehicles and other objects against the elements and other damage.
Jamie and Jennifer Cline of Cline’s Powder Coating said they have applied a durable powder-based coating to assorted vehicles and objects ranging from handrails to barbecue grills.
Those who step into the lobby of the new business at 606 N. Fourth St. will find a red, silver and blue park bench, a bright red antique parking meter, two of the many items they have restored, and several long shelves filled the assorted colors in which the coating is available.
Available in North America since the 1960s, powder coating consists of curatives, pigments and other materials mixed into a uniform powder similar to flour applied to objects with an electrostatic spray gun.
After being heated in a large oven, the coating is very resistant to scratches, chipping, abrasions, corrosion, fading and other wear issues common with liquid paints, noted Jennifer.
“It is 10 times more durable than regular paint,” said Jamie.
The pair have applied the coating to many types of all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles and metal elements of other vehicles, from truck frames and race car chassis to wheels and fenders, as well as metal railing, grates for barbecue grills and pits and outdoor decorations.
“We also have done many antiques,” said Jamie, who showed a visitor two antique metal schoolhouse desks, the kind that included an ink well, they were working on.
Asked the oldest item they have refurbished, he replied, “A barbershop chair from the late 1800s. It was polished nickel and porcelain.”
Jamie said with time, porcelain yellows, but they were able to conceal that with powder coating.
“We did a lot of research and found the colors that matched (the original),” he said.
Jamie said a number of auto owners like to have their wheels painted a different color to stand out from others.
He added they purchase coatings from a few vendors, including one that offers up to 7,500 hues.
Jamie said before he and Jennifer opened the business, he was a “shade tree mechanic” who enjoyed repairing and detailing vehicles.
“I was just painting stuff myself and was tired of the paint not lasting,” he said, adding it occurred to him to try powder coating after watching a television show on which it was demonstrated.
Working initially with a small gun, he was approached by a friend to coat his wheels and word of his skills spread to others.
“It just snowballed,” said Jamie, who said such projects had been a sideline while he was working as a mechanic in the gas and oil industry.
After he and Jennifer found they were doing such work in the evenings after work and on weekends, they decided to set up a shop near the Dyer Country Club.
Jamie said after building onto it three times, they realized it was time to find a new location.
The pair had ties to Toronto. Jennifer graduated from Toronto High School in 2004 and her family ran the Gem City Bar for many years, while Jamie, a 1994 Edison High School graduate, has grandparents who live there.
Jamie noted they first approached the city’s planning commission with blueprints for the 5,000-square-foot structure they would build on a vacant lot.
He said zoning allowed for the business’ establishment, but members of the city board were concerned that it wouldn’t conflict aesthetically with adjacent homes.
Jamie said the construction itself fell under the jurisdiction of the Ohio Department of Commerce and state-certified contractors were used to comply with its guidelines.
He said he and Jennifer were able to do some of the work, such as painting, with the help of many family members.
They said they have enjoyed doing business in Toronto and are happy to direct customers, some of whom have come from as far as Dayton, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, to local restaurants.
The Clines said they have coated railings for places including UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Travel Museum and they like to help local churches and nonprofit groups when they can.
Jennifer, who assists Jamie in the shop as well as handling its office operations, said they enjoy their work.
“When you see their faces when they come to pick up their item, that really makes it worth it,” she said.
Cline’s Powder Coating is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, and appointments can be made by calling (740) 537-5491.
The pair regularly posts photos of their work on its Facebook page.
(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)
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