If you’re an avid jewelry shopper, you may have seen some interesting-looking pieces of jewelry in bright pink, blue, or green metallic finishes. This coloration is called e-coating, and it’s currently one of the hottest jewelry techniques because of its ability to add unconventional colors to the surface of the metal without turning opaque like enamel. Keep reading to learn about how you can apply it to your own jewelry.
What is E-Coating?
E-coating stands for electrophoretic coating, a term that is used to describe the process of depositing certain particles onto the surface of a piece of metal. Aside from jewelry, it’s commonly applied to cars, furniture, containers, and other everyday objects. You probably already own a piece that has e-coating on it!
An important distinction to make is the difference between enameling, plating, and e-coating. Enameling is the baking of powdered glass on top of the metal; the most common type of enamel has an opaque look and is used to highlight details instead of coloring the entire piece of jewelry. Plating is the electrical conveyance of gold or rhodium particles onto the surface of the item; a thin layer of the new metal develops on top of the jewelry. E-coating is a semi-transparent mixture of enameling and plating; acrylic or ceramic particles are electrically carried and adhered to the surface, and the item is baked in an oven or kiln to cure the coating.
Things to Consider Before You E-Coat Your Jewelry
- The metal of your jewelry: E-coating is best applied to standard metals such as silver and gold. Costume jewelry can potentially burn, so it’s a good idea to double check before you send it off to give it a new color. Atypical metals such as titanium and niobium are very tricky to e-coat and generally not worth the trouble as the color may not stick.
- The design of your item: Components in the design of your item can be affected during the e-coating process. If your item contains enamel or fake stones made from plastic or glass, they may be affected by the e-coating process.
- The color you want to e-coat onto your jewelry: E-coating is a process that will adhere a nano-ceramic coating to the surface of your jewelry; it’s designed to be hard to remove. Make sure you really want your jewelry to be that particular color before you move ahead with coating it.
A typical sampler containing various e-coating colors.
The Process Of E-Coating
- Polish the surface: The most important step to prepare the item for e-coating is polishing. No matter what type of metal the item is, it has to be polished to ensure that the surface is perfectly smooth. An item with a grainy or scratched texture will come out with an uneven coating.
- Clean the jewelry: While the polishing process ensures that the jewelry comes out nice and smooth, it also generates a lot of metal filings and sticky black residue that needs to be cleaned off. The item is professionally washed in an industry-grade jewelry cleaner, such as an ultrasonic cleaner. This device is a large tank filled with either water or cleaning solution. Soundwaves create bubbles in the liquid, knocking out dirt in all the small crevices that cannot be reached by human hands.
- Rinse in distilled water: After all the scratches and dirt are removed, the jeweler will rinse the item several times in distilled water and neutralizer in order to ready it for the upcoming chemical process. Distilled water helps to remove any chemical impurities that may affect the e-coating procedure.
- Submerge in e-coating tank: Similar to gold plating, the item is submerged in a tank containing a solution made from the desired coating and water. Electrical currents run through the tank, and the resulting chemical reaction fuses the particles of the coating to the surface of the jewelry.
- Cure the coating: After the e-coating tank, the jewelry is moved to a kiln or an oven. It’s cured (baked) in order to solidify the coating and ensure that it becomes a hard, durable, and glossy exterior that will withstand daily wear without cracking and falling off the item. Much like enameling, this process can take a while and should not be rushed.
- Remove the finished product: The jewelry is taken out of the kiln once it’s considered ready for wear. E-coating can last for several years if the item is taken care of properly.
Why You Should E-Coat Your Jewelry
E-coating jewelry is the best way to get an eye-catching look that covers the entire piece of jewelry. Gold plating is beautiful, but considerably less durable because of the softness of the metal, and it wears off comparatively faster. It’s also limited to yellow gold and rose gold in terms of color, whereas e-coating has a multitude of selections for you to choose from.
The semi-transparent look of e-coating also allows you to show off the metal beneath the coating. For instance, a high-polish ring will be shiny and colorful after e-coating, while a matte finished ring will show a beautiful brushed look under the coloration.
For those looking for extra protection without changing the color of their jewelry, we also offer transparent e-coating to help improve durability while maintaining the original look of your item.
The Cost of E-Coating
The price of e-coating can be affected by the following:
- Polishing labor: Polishing the piece is an absolute must; if the item is not polished, any abrasions will be clearly visible under the semi-transparent e-coating. While polishing prices are fairly standard for regular jewelry metals such as silver, gold, and platinum, the jeweler may charge more for tougher metals such as stainless steel and tungsten because they require special equipment.
If you’re interested in protecting your jewelry with e-coating, please note that we currently offer only transparent e-coating. Reach out to us to learn more about this service or request it for your item today.
Community Discussion
Questions, experiences, and expert answers from the QJR community.
Hi, is it possible to apply the coloured coating to just the prong area on a diamond pave setting to match the gemstone, rather than coating the whole ring, for example?
Thanks for reaching out, Jamal! We’ve sent you an email to gather a few details and see if we can help with the coating you’re looking for.
Hello,
Thank you for this presentation.
I have several questions about paving and center stones.
Does the treatment adhere to the stones?
Are all stones suitable for the treatment, and if not, which ones should be avoided?
Thank you
Hi Maureen! E-coating is meant to adhere to the metal surface, not the stones themselves. Whether stones are suitable depends on the material, setting style, and sensitivity to the process — delicate, porous, or treated stones may need extra caution. If you’re considering coating a specific piece, send photos and stone details to [email protected] so we can advise before any work is done.
Can you e-coat metals that have some flexibility to them? Will the e-coat crack if the metal flexes?
Hi Dani, E-coating can be applied to flexible metals, but the coating might crack if the metal is bent or flexed significantly after application. While e-coat is durable, it’s not typically designed to withstand frequent or extreme flexing. For metals that need to stay flexible, powder coating or other more flexible finishes might be a better option.
is it difficult to remove e-coating and restore original gold finish without having to remount the stones
Hi Saul! Removing an e-coating depends on the coating, underlying metal, and stones. It cannot be assumed that the original gold finish will survive unchanged or that every stone can stay mounted. Please email clear photos and any coating details to [email protected] so we can assess the piece before work is considered. You can see the relevant service here: https://quickjewelryrepairs.com/repair/custom-order/.
Hi i need more information about it
Please send me wp number by email
Thank u
Hi Mohamad, thank you so much for your comment 🙂 I’d love to assist, I sent you the details via email so we can help you out 😀
Hi I am in Los Angeles and would like to coat diamond pave rings.
Hi David, thank you so much for your comment. We’d love to help you coat your diamond pave rings. I reached out via email to assist you further 🙂
Hi is there is a fluo colors ?
We use a wide variety of colors for e-coating at QJR! What colors are you interested in?
Can I get a video of the electronic coating and what is the material used
is it possible on plastics beads ?
Hi Carolyn, can fine jewelry items be shipped back and forth to you without duty? What is the turn around time fir a pair of earrings? Would it be more cost effective to send a few pieces at a time?
Hi Matt, We do not have control over duty fees. They can vary country to county. E-coating takes about 1 week to complete and ship out. Please shoot us an email to [email protected] if you’d like to discuss costs to e-coat your pieces!
How do you remove e-coat to freshen up a piece of Jewelry
Hi Carolyn, we would suggest having the e-coating polished off!
Hello! I was wondering whether it is feasible to do this to the chain of a necklace?
Hi There, we have replied via email! 🙂
hi, does it color the stones? or just the metals?
thx
Hi Tarek, e-coating is just for metals!
Where I can buy this product for Mexico?
Hi there, you can order an e-coating service through us! Please reach out to [email protected] for further assistance!
How long does e-coating typically last on regularly worn rings and how often would the coating need to be touched up? I am ordering some silver pieces, but want them in a different color.
Thank you!
Hi Chesea, e-coating can last about 8 months! Please email us at [email protected] for further assistance.
Can you please reach out about your services. I am interested in getting pieces e-coated. I am a jeweler based out of Mumbai.
Hi there,
Are you based in the UK? I am looking for a company to use for colour coating some sterling silver jewellery.
Thanks,
Clio
Hi Clio,
We’re not based in the UK but we do have clients from there all the time! We’ve emailed you for more details.
Hi! Are you offering this service?
Hi Jacquie, yes we are! Do you have something you need to e-coat?
Hi Annabelle! Yes! Several pieces. How can I get in contact with you?
Are you still offering this? Im interested in getting a better idea on everything.
Hey, Chris! We certainly are. 🙂
We reached out via email to assist you further
Can we switch colors, ie coat in one color, remove and then recoat in another?
Thnx!
Hi Jen,
Yes we can! We can remove e-coating and redo it if necessary.
hi annabelle! i am trying to figure out what are the quantities of water/solution i need to put into the bath. i can’t find it anywhere! can you please give me some link to a video or instruction sheet on the ratio between water and the solution?
Thank you for your comment and interest in e-coating! 🙂 We don’t share the details of our e-coating process I’m afraid, but we can definitely help by doing this on your behalf!
Showing 19 threads with 35 comments · page 1 of 1