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Cleaning copper baywindow roof awning?
- Thread starter comet
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 7, 1999
- Messages
- 6,651
Hey Comet ...
Is it starting to turn deep brown,, or possibly green, blueish green ??
Thats a good thing,, not a bad thing..
People pay good money to have that antique put on their copper,, or wait many years for it to happen...
I can tell you now,, that if you do clean it off,, it'll look like $hit, will never be the same,, you'llhave to clean it constantly,, and when you get sick of cleaning it,, it will tarnish unevenly,, and look Really Phucked up...
Leave well enough alone,,and let nature takes it course..If you want to turn it green faster,, there are products on the market that will do the weathering for you...
I would peronally leave it be....
ttyle
Eric....
Is it starting to turn deep brown,, or possibly green, blueish green ??
Thats a good thing,, not a bad thing..
People pay good money to have that antique put on their copper,, or wait many years for it to happen...
I can tell you now,, that if you do clean it off,, it'll look like $hit, will never be the same,, you'llhave to clean it constantly,, and when you get sick of cleaning it,, it will tarnish unevenly,, and look Really Phucked up...
Leave well enough alone,,and let nature takes it course..If you want to turn it green faster,, there are products on the market that will do the weathering for you...
I would peronally leave it be....
ttyle
Eric....
- Joined
- Apr 3, 1999
- Messages
- 2,052
Normark said:
I agree 100%.
- Joined
- Nov 7, 1999
- Messages
- 6,651
Hey Comet....
Just so you know..I also do custom elctroplating in copper/bronze... The green, blue/green leaves you see in the picture are treated with our own proprietary vertigris, which is misted onto a leaf that has been oxidized..
Sometimes you will see building with a greenish roof, such as the parliament buildings in Ottawa Canada .. These are copper...
At one time,, it took many years to get this color, which I also believe protects the copper to a degree, however now the copper is installed with this finish already applied...
ttyle
Eric....
Just so you know..I also do custom elctroplating in copper/bronze... The green, blue/green leaves you see in the picture are treated with our own proprietary vertigris, which is misted onto a leaf that has been oxidized..
Sometimes you will see building with a greenish roof, such as the parliament buildings in Ottawa Canada .. These are copper...
At one time,, it took many years to get this color, which I also believe protects the copper to a degree, however now the copper is installed with this finish already applied...
ttyle
Eric....
- Joined
- Apr 3, 1999
- Messages
- 2,052
comet,
What I really should say is if you like it polished, then polish it. Just because a lot of people like it green doesn't mean you should. The real problem with that from my lazy point of view is that it is a never ending battle that you will lose. I suppose you could polish it and then seal it somehow, otherwise it will verdegris (can that be a verb?) again pretty quickly.
What I really should say is if you like it polished, then polish it. Just because a lot of people like it green doesn't mean you should. The real problem with that from my lazy point of view is that it is a never ending battle that you will lose. I suppose you could polish it and then seal it somehow, otherwise it will verdegris (can that be a verb?) again pretty quickly.
- Joined
- Nov 7, 1999
- Messages
- 6,651
Hey Comet..
Paul,, you are absolutely correct,, and I should have made that clear as well..
If you are going to polish it,, then you'll have to keep it up. How often will depend on your environmental conditions...
It may have to be done more often than you would like to keep up the appearance of shiny copper...
Sealing it, will cause it's own problems in the long run as well.Sure it will stay shiny for awhile,, maybe quite a long time, however.....
If it becomes damaged, scratched, nick ,improperly applied, or wears out, the copper will fade and tarnish irregularly and become blotchy..
This is where it starts to look like crap. Once it starts to look like crap, there is no going back to a natural evenly tarnished (patina) look.
Basically you have to make up your mind whether you want to put in the work that it takes to keep it up,, or let nature take it's course and let things naturally happen.
Both look very nice, and there is something to be said for look of nice shiny copper accents, however the look of old copper is warm, friendly and rustic.
Hope this has helped you somewhat make a informed choice..Would love to see a picture regards of what you do..
ttyle
Eric...
Paul,, you are absolutely correct,, and I should have made that clear as well..
If you are going to polish it,, then you'll have to keep it up. How often will depend on your environmental conditions...
It may have to be done more often than you would like to keep up the appearance of shiny copper...
Sealing it, will cause it's own problems in the long run as well.Sure it will stay shiny for awhile,, maybe quite a long time, however.....
If it becomes damaged, scratched, nick ,improperly applied, or wears out, the copper will fade and tarnish irregularly and become blotchy..
This is where it starts to look like crap. Once it starts to look like crap, there is no going back to a natural evenly tarnished (patina) look.
Basically you have to make up your mind whether you want to put in the work that it takes to keep it up,, or let nature take it's course and let things naturally happen.
Both look very nice, and there is something to be said for look of nice shiny copper accents, however the look of old copper is warm, friendly and rustic.
Hope this has helped you somewhat make a informed choice..Would love to see a picture regards of what you do..
ttyle
Eric...