Machining:
All our custom radiator covers (plus all our own ready made covers - Traditional, New England, Squares and Lines and Stars designs) are machined to exact requirements using a plain 18mm MDF base. We use Computer Numeric Controlled machining technology to design and accurately cut our designs to within 1/10th of 1mm.

Paint Process:
For painted covers, after manufacture exposed edges are sanded with an automatic "finger sander". Before going off for the paint finish.

Our paint system, uses a specially developed MDF high build primer base coat followed by the required colour mixed in our special top coat paint finish. For all painted covers we use this special paint. This paint is applied through an “airless” spray system. The paint is very hard wearing and maintains its colour despite the constant changing temperatures around your radiator cover. The finish is silky smooth with no brush marks or “over-spray” to detract from the overall effect of your radiator cover. This paint is specially developed and cannot be purchased in the shops. (Similar to paint systems used in the car industry) This makes it both hard wearing and allows you to wipe clean any spills or marks with normal household cleaners. The paint has a 60% gloss additive and gives a satin type finish.
 
All our covers are manufactured so that the "front panel" (with the grille) slots into rebates in the two sides, in this way the joints are seamless and are not prone to the paint finish cracking.

Real Wood Veneer:
For real wood veneered & lacquered covers, after manufacture exposed edges are sanded and left as plain MDF. The whole cover then goes through a "dying" process to bring out the desired depth of colour. At this stage exposed edges are dyed to compliment the veneer finish.
 
After this process the exposed areas of the cover goes through two lacquer processes (bottom and top coat clear lacquer) and it is this process that gives a truly outstanding finish to be admired. [Note only the exposed surfaces, i.e. those that face outwards in to the room, are lacquered].

We use a two stage hard glaze (acid curing) lacquer on all veneered radiator covers which protects your unique piece of furniture. This makes it both hard wearing and allows you to wipe clean any spills or marks, while the natural beauty of the wood finish shines through.

Also available is our Unfinished Oak Veneered covers - this is a completely unfinished oak veneer faced cover with plain MDF edges that allows you to stain/varnish/ lacquer the cover yourself as you wish.

To see the range of wood veneer finishes Click Here.  

Production Scheduling & Estimated Dispatch Times - An explanation:
The estimated dispatch times for made to measure cabinets are the average dispatch times across all finishes - with fully finished covers usually taking longer than this and plain MDF usually less. All dispatch times detailed are actual times required to complete manufacture and therefore exclude any statutory or advertised holidays and closures.

For cabinets manufactured by ourselves i.e. made to measure cabinets and our own ready mades that are held in stock in plain MDF only and that are primed and painted to order, we are only able to give a very rough estimate for average manufacturing times. This is because of the many processes involved in the manufacturing process, the many unknowns such as drying times, the need to retain flexibility within the production schedules and the mix and quantity of orders at any given time.

By way of explanation, some cover designs take much longer to machine and cut than others, limiting the number of cabinets that can be cut at a time, some designs and finishes take longer to finish. There is a finite limit to the number of cabinets that can be physically painted in one day and therefore production scheduling needs to take into account this fact to ensure that the number of cabinets going into the finishing department does not exceed the number that can be painted that day. In the same way, we also need to ensure that the machining side do not cut too many of the cabinets that take a long time to cut in one day as this then results in the finishing department ultimately not having enough cabinets to paint on a particular day.

The finishing department will also only finish in one colour or medium per day as changes require all the equipment and spray room to be compeltely washed through and this process is too time-consuming to allow for colour/medium changes within the same day. Therefore, the finishing department would routinely paint Primer normally 2-3 times/week; Satin White 2-3 times/week; Barley White approx every two weeks and Lacquer approx every 2-3 weeks.

The result of this is that average manufacturing times for Barley White and Wood Veneer covers are particularly difficult to predict depending on time of order receipt and whether the cabinet can be readied for top-coating in time for the next batch of finishing or whether it would have to be finished in a subsequent batch.

Similarly, orders for mixed finishes are also difficult as, owing to limited storage space, production schedules are amended where possible to attempt to ensure that all covers on the same order can be completed within the same 5 days or so in order that they can be dispatched together as soon as possible.

We often have need to alter productions schedules, sometimes at last minute. This happens for many  reasons and can be because of longer drying times; staff sickness; machinery failure or servicing requirements or the necessity to remove some orders from finishing to finish a priority order - this is only ever done in the event that a customer's cabinet has had a part damaged in transit and, in these circumstances, we will always expedite any replacement parts through the factory.

The busiest time of year tends to be end of September to December when pre-Xmas orders for made to measure cabinets usually increases significantly and around Easter. Whilst we increase shift numbers and overtime etc there is usually an increase in average manufacturing times over this period, particularly for fully finished cabinets. It is however rare for manufacture to be take beyond 30 working days other than during the peak times of pre-Xmas and around Easter. If however, this is of concern to you, please contact us before ordering and we can at least give you an idea of the approximate current dispatch times we are working to. We also always advertise a cut-off date for receipt of made to measure orders required for delivery before Xmas or any other holiday closure - please ensure that you check this information before ordering - this is always on our website at least two months before any closure.

We hope that this helps to explain a little of why estimating manufacturing and dispatch times is so difficult Please feel free to ask for an update on your order progress at any time but please be aware that, before your order is dry and packed, any estimated or planned dispatch dates are indeed just that and they can and often do change prior to actual dispatch.