How to make copper look like wood

January 28, 2009

I'm a student in sculpture and i search method to obtain oxidation of copper like this pics: http://www.alumisonic.com/vintage-copper.html
the colour and the line like imitation of wood how I can obtain this

thanks

sorry for my poor English I'm a French speaker

Philippe T.
student - Quebec, Quebec, Canada

February 6, 2009

I followed your link. I was expecting to find some engraving or irregular surface roughness, but no. To me, what I saw is just a beautiful and artistical coloring job by use of different inks, varnishes or chemical patinas over copper combined by brushing, driping or perhaps incompletely mixing colors to obtain the effect. In any case, if you are curious about other surface finishing methods used to mimic natural materials, consider the plastic interiors in your car. These parts are produced in steel moulds which have their internal surfaces carved with the same pattern on reverse, to give the plastic the exact roughness and grain orientation of natural leathers, geometric designs, etc. The process used is called mold texturing and involves photoetching and selective acid attack artistically combined over the steel surfaces.

Guillermo Marrufo
Monterrey, NL, Mexico