Copper, Bronze and Brass Signs and Plaques
All that glitters is not gold
Shakespeare Proverbs
more famous quotes
It’s All About the Alloy
Swirls On the Vertical Address Plaque – Copper
Copper is the primary metal that makes up the alloys of bronze and brass. Copper itself is soft and easily hammered to shape. As we all know, copper in its fresh state has a pinkish coloration that surface corrodes quite rapidly showing blue, green, and/or brown oxidation. At Atlas Signs and Plaques, we induce this beautiful corrosion, which we call patina, to give our copper signs and plaques a bit (or a lot) of age and take away that “new penny” look.
Copper was one of the earliest metals utilized and may have been used as early as 10,000 years ago in hammered tools and adornments. Not long after the art of extracting and purifying copper from its ore was discovered (called smelting), the door was opened to casting copper and creating alloys with properties far different from the ingredient elements.
Salmon Fish Address Plaque – Bronze
The addition of tin to copper makes up the alloy called bronze. Combining copper with tin made copper easier to cast, but more importantly, bronze is much harder than either of the metals that are included in it’s basic recipe. A fact quickly picked up by armament makers. Although tin is the main additive, bronze is a very broadly defined metal and can have many other materials included in the alloy and still be labeled “bronze”. The mix of ingredients in bronze results in quite a variation in coloration. Our bronze has a brownish cast with some copper undertones and is the most popular of our real metal coatings.
Lady Liberty Address Plaque – Brass
Brass is a copper and zinc alloy. Like bronze, brass can have different amounts of the principle additive as well as other trace elements and still be defined as brass. These different mixtures result in varying properties and, of course, variations in color. Our brass is much more golden in color than our bronze.
At Atlas Signs and Plaques, our patina experts utilize chemical compounds (and a little mystery) to bring out the depth and beauty of the metal. Since there is a little bit of magic going on, every piece is a little different, truly one-of-a-kind artwork. Copper, bronze, and brass react to age with some similarities. Our copper patina, bronze patina, and brass patina have very natural brownish tones in the background, while our copper verdi, bronze verdi, and brass verdi have a complex green and blue patina (and even have some other colors visible). The verdi (verdigris) patinas are quite reminiscent of what you might see on antiquities found in coastal regions.
Copper Patina Raised
Bronze Patina Raised
Brass Patina Raised
