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fordite
EntityQ5468092· pop 10· linked from 5 articles

Also known as Detroit agate, Motor City agate

thumb|291x291px|Fordite in Dearborn, Michigan, 2019 Fordite, also known as Detroit agate, Motor City agate, paint rock, or paint slag, is a lapidarist term for polished pieces of finely layered paint masses from automobile factories. The masses consist of automotive paint which has hardened sufficiently to be cut and polished. It was formed from the progressive buildup of layers of enamel paint on tracks and skids on which cars were painted with acrylic lacquer, which have been baked numerous times. In recent times the material has been upcycled into jewelry.

Wikidata facts

Subclass of
by-product
Named after
agate
Material used
automotive paint
Image
Fordite Floating Pendant.jpg
Has use
jewelry
Show 4 more facts
Commons category
Fordite
fabrication method
polishing
native label
Motor City agate
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~3 min read

Encyclopedic overview

7 sections
Contents
  • History
  • Composition
  • Gallery
  • See also
  • References
  • Further reading
  • External links

thumb|291x291px|Fordite in Dearborn, Michigan, 2019 Fordite, also known as Detroit agate, Motor City agate, paint rock, or paint slag, is a lapidarist term for polished pieces of finely layered paint masses from automobile factories. The masses consist of automotive paint which has hardened sufficiently to be cut and polished. It was formed from the progressive buildup of layers of enamel paint on tracks and skids on which cars were painted with acrylic lacquer, which have been baked numerous times. In recent times the material has been upcycled into jewelry.

Fordite is notable for the way it displays "the history of the American automotive industry", both to illustrate the changing colors of car paint as well as the transformation and disappearance of the Ford Motor Company factories in Detroit.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “fordite” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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