We had often faced misinformation about the peculiarities that concern the Corten steel, understood as the distinctive material of all our processes. It is even more confused with what couldn't be more different from this splendid steel, namely thermoplastic materials or simple iron as well. Through this article we will help you, finally, to distinguish Corten steel from imitations, help you to choose the right material according to your needs, and avoid waste of money。
One of the main characteristics of Corten is its materiality. The Sight irregularity and touch of this material are unique and many times inimitable. If from a visual point of view, through very elaborate painting, the effect can be almost totally imitated.
Polypropylene has exactly this limit. Lighter than Corten, it is certainly more practical in some circumstances.
Polypropylene is a thermoplastic material and therefore very smooth and frequently used in restaurants.
The "Corten effect" is not simply painting, but a material covered with a thin layer of painted metal with a Corten effect.
A patination treatment for weathering steel has been available for some years in Japan. It works in much the same way as patination oil for lead in that it allows the stable oxide layer to form beneath a protective coating that impedes less desirable forms of surface corrosion. Unlike patination oil, the short-term effect is not visually pleasing and results in the elements appearing to have been whitewashed. The coating slowly chalks away over for years until finally a perfectly formed patinated surface is exposed.
Corten steel is a steel alloy chemically composed of phosphorus, copper, nickel, silicon, and chromium that results in the formation of an adherent protective rust "patina" under a corrosive environment. This protective layer inhibits corrosion and further deterioration of the steel. ·
When the rusting process is initiated in weathering steel, the alloy elements produce a stable layer called the patina that adheres to the base metal.
Compared to the rust layers formed in other structural steel types, patina is less porous. This protective layer develops and regenerates with weather and impedes further access to oxygen, moisture, and pollutants.
