WHAT IS THE COLOUR OF PAN?
The Trinidad Guardian
by Felix Paul

Cindy Rosemin poses with a miniature tenor pan in one of the children’s range.

PICTURE a steelband on stage with all the pans brilliantly glowing under shimmering lights, fully coated in colours of your choice. No more simple silver chrome pans but a sight that is delightfully aesthetic, arranged to your likeness. What about your personal instrument not staring back at you with the monotonous glare of chrome? But a wonder to behold. A wonder that matches the heavenly sound of pan.

Well, this is now a reality. It’s here, the launch is soon and the pan-making industry is abuzz with praise and enthusiasm.

It is called powder coating.

Behind the excitement and sounds of Carnival 2007, Panland Trinidad and Tobago Limited (formerly Trinidad and Tobago Instruments Limited) quietly installed a state-of-the-art coating system at its factory in Laventille which has the capability of coating steelpans and accessories in an extensive range of colours, finishes and textures without compromising the integrity of the instrument.

Tenor concerns
The pan most likely to have succumbed to this would have been the high tenor with 29 notes which has a piano range from D4 to F#6. But Michael Cooper, the man behind this brain child, assured that after extensive testing there was no significant change in the tonal quality of the pan. “In fact,” he emphasised, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating and the pannists, tuners and panmakers all gave it a thumbs up.”

Cooper, the president of Panland, said after attending music industry shows in the US and noticing the beautiful colours and hybrid finishes applied to brass instruments, he adopted the idea.

He said his company forged an alliance with a top coating company in the US and steelpans from Trinidad were shipped to California, powder coated and returned to the factory for assessment. The result was a resounding success. And so Panland went into the process.

Hardness of coating
Powder coating performs better than chrome when hammering for the purposes of fine-tuning and blending. Scratches are even avoidable due to the use of taped hammers and the painted surface does not dent nor change shape as a result. Cooper said unlike present painting methods, even the notes or what can be called the playing surface is painted.

Cooper continued: “Within a couple of days chrome-plated pans, when exposed to moisture begin to rust. However, powder coating completely seals the metal surface of the pan and protect totally from moisture.”

This obviously is a major consideration in the storage and handling of steelpans. In fact, the pans can even be washed as one would one’s car without fear of rust sores.

Application
The powder coating process is also simpler, quicker and cheaper than chrome-plating.

The sandblasting method removes surface rust and other impurities. It is then powder coated and finally stoved to 400 degrees. It therefore takes far less time and money to powder coat a pan than to chrome it. A cost example is that to chrome a tenor pan one will have to fork up $1,250, while powder-coating the same instrument will only cost $345.

Environmentally-friendly

Cindy Rosemin, the assistant technical manager responsible for quality control, explained that the coating process uses powder which is non-toxic.

“It is perfect for children’s use, especially as the factory also produces pans to scale for children. It is lead-free and harmless if ingested,” she said.

Panland Trinidad and Tobago Limited, the largest pan factory in the world, makes the entire range of steelpan and accessories.

The question now is: “What is the colour of your pan?”