Also known as Motor Agate or Detroit Agate, Fordite is made from layer upon layer of car paint.
Starting in the 1920’s, overspray from painting cars would build up in the paint bays. The “slag” (enamel paint) was then hardened during the curing process. Some of the individual layers were baked 100 times.
The first slag was collected from The Ford Motor Company in Michigan thus the name Fordite. It has also been created from other cars such as Corvette (Corvetteite) and Cadillac (Cadillac Ranch).
In the 1940’s, factory workers began salvaging the clumps of paint. It takes almost 1,000 layers of paint to make a 1” specimen and comes in a variety of colored layers. The “slag” colors change due to the trends that were at the time. The ‘60’s and 70’s paint create the bright, almost pop art colors.
The current process of painting cars eliminates overspray, which has created a limited supply of this “stone”. While it is not known how much is available it is hoped that some has been stashed away.
These lovely pieces were purchased from Doug and Cheryl Ruby Dole.
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