The words "tole painting" originally meant painting on tin. In recent years it has been extremely difficult to find good tin products to paint on. In addition to being hard to find, it has required painters to spend a great deal of time preparing the tinware for painting. That is why I am extremely proud of the line of metalware I produce and sell to the decorative painting and craft markets. I’d like to tell you a little bit about it. To view our metalware, click here.

Most of the Metalware we sell starts out as sheets of sturdy aluminum. These are cut into squares, then sheared into circles. The circles are taken to a metal spinning lathe and placed on the machine behind a chuck which has the shape of the bowl or plate that is about to be made. The lathe starts spinning at a high rate of speed and a worker, using tools, forces the metal to form around the chuck. He then trims the metal and rolls a beaded edge onto the piece. Each piece is made individually so there are some minor variations. Another type of forming is also done. Large presses are used to shape some of the fancy edged trays.

After forming, each piece is cleaned thoroughly, and then a high quality medium gray metal primer is applied. Packaging comes next - each piece is protected from scratching in shipment by a piece of foam packing material.

What do you get? A sturdy piece to paint on that is already primed. You have absolutely no prep work to do - no sanding, no sealing - nothing. Just basecoat and start painting your design. You can use spray paints or brush on acrylic paints for your basecoats. Painting can be done in oils or acrylics. This is also a terrific product for those of you who enjoy stencilling , faux finishing and decoupage. And because we use aluminum, it is lightweight for shipping and, also, it will never rust.

The complete line can be ordered thru the shopping cart. Wholesale and distributor inquiries are welcome. Some of our great distributors include: Catalina Cottage, The Artist Club, Viking Woodcrafts, ABC/Hofcraft, Athena, Sun-K, Setoco, Stonebridge Collection, Taiwan Sunk, and Sea Breezing.