Higham Furniture

Background

Higham is a Hampshire-based kitchen furniture specialist.

Redwood has been supplying Higham with consumables since 2010, but the relationship moved up a notch some years back when concerns about sustainability prompted Higham’s management to switch away from solvent-based paints and varnishes. The distinctive finish that the company now uses across its range of ‘shaker’ furniture relies on a classic one-two combination: Hesse Lignal primers from Redwood and top coats from traditional paint supplier, Little Greene.

The challenge

Of course, while top-notch raw materials contribute to a great finish, they aren’t the whole story. We were reminded of this fact when Higham’s production manager called on us. Some of the company’s recent output had been disappointing, with small scratches marring the otherwise pristine topcoat. Would changing primers help?

We doubted that Hesse’s primers were the cause of the problem…but we’re always pleased to deal with a technical query, especially when a definitive answer is likely to be of use to other customers. We sent a team to visit Higham’s shop floor.

Their report was unambiguous. Higham’s finishing technique and working environment were second to none, but they were still using traditional abrasives on which they’d always relied. The cheap sanding discs were filling with hard dust, and, as a result, leaving visible ‘skate marks’ in the fine surface of the Little Greene paint.

Our solution

Redwood’s remedy was simple. We sent Higham a shipment of our preferred Sia 1950 S- Performance discs and sanding strips. These are designed to deliver continuous high-speed performance without clogging and extended operational life.

The outcome

The feedback from Higham was a massive thumbs-up. They were consistently getting perfect finishes across their range…and achieving significant reductions in processing time!