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Letter 16945
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++ Corten steel is a special steel used in architecture to give a pleasing (to some!) patina. The steel is designed to "weather" or "age" to give a coppery colour that will improve with time. It is resilient to many corrosive atmospheres. If you do not like it, I suggest you remove the patina and paint it with suitable paints.
++ I stumbled upon this website and found this question. Leave the Cor-ten steel alone. Let it patina. It is beautiful. Dan O'Mara |
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 Corten Woman by sculptor Willemine van Laarhoven (see entry of March 28, 2009) |
It is a beautiful finish aesthetically. And I agree that it should be left alone. Does anyone know the life cycle of this finish and do companies warranty it...?
Joeey Poitevin
- Jackson, Mississippi
I am a student at FSU and have been working with Corten material during class. We have a Corten sculpture here on campus and it has a nice dark purple color. It looks black from a distance. the oxide layer will not degrade, our sculpture has been up since 1980 and it still looks great.
Kenneth C 
Ferris State University - Big Rapids, Michigan
Sir;
1. The Corten steel in your case should not be used for windows or
doors. Corten Steel in primary used for bridge frame and structure
usage.
2. if you must use Corten Steel, you need to get a prepaint or coated
type, check with US Steel Construction manufacture. If you leave your
Corten steel window and door as it is, it is unsightly and the value
of the your property will be affected. Because apparent is important
for property value Also in addition, over a long period, it will just
become a pack rust looking, some may find it ok but I can ensure that
majority of regular folks will not agree with it.
3. Corten Steel has a very good tensile strength but is not
recommended for any residential usage. Anyhow, no one say you have
to.
4. You should treat the Corten steel with a VOC corrosion inhibitor.
Select the one that will give you the finishing that you want.
Normally, a good VOC corrosion inhibitor should give me a long term
protection as well as a smooth finishing.
Danis P
engineering service - Ontario, Canada
I work in the ship repair. we need to weld double patch on corroded area of gas air heater water washing drain hood and basket casing. Can anybody helps how economical if we use Corten steel. Roughly how much is Corten steel in USD per kg.thanks
James Jimenez
- Singapore
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Hello, I am a builder and my architect has specified Corten steel
for use above an interior fireplace and on the face of the hearth.
Once installed the steel will not be subject to any moisture. I
assume I should pre-rust the steel before installation to get the
corroded look that is so attractive with Corten.
My questions are:
1. Will it corrode in a dry environment?
2 If I am to pre-rust it is there any treatment I should use on the
steel to remove oils or other contaminants.
3. Should I use sea water to hasten the corrosion? I have actually
tried a few samples using sea water and have had varying success,
some with pretty good results, others that the corrosion is very
spotty, as if something present on the surface was preventing the
corrosion.
4. If I achieve the desired level of corrosion before installing the
pieces, can I seal it to prevent people in the house from getting the
rust on them or their clothes?
Mr. Courtney G
construction - Santa Cruz, California
I am using Corten steel (6 mm thick), but would like to achieve a
almost uniform black color for a special application. does anyone
knows any 'tricks' or procedures ?
thanks for any reply.
Michael P
- Adelaide, South Australia
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Can anyone assist in what material should be used to clean spray paint (probably cellulose) graffiti off the face of CorTen steel cladding without damaging the surface.
Michael W
architects - London, England
All of my impressions of Corten is that once up it doesn't need to
be maintained. I am using this material as part of entry sign for the
community of San Pedro, California.
I am concerned with graffiti and general wear as it will be in a
maritime climate.
Thanks
I am a Landscape Architect with the City of Los Angeles, Recreation
and Parks, Advance Planning.
Craig R
City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks - Los Angeles,
California
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If u have to paint it and want it to last, wire brush off the
worst till you have reached an acceptable finish level, it does not
need cleaning back to perfect, then paint with
Hammerite [link is to product info at Amazon], this is a
bonding paint available in many colours.
it will last for years and should prevent further rusting.
Friends and I have used it for over 30 years and never found any
problems, we have even used it to cover the bottoms of cars to delay
salt corrosion, as our local authorities believe in very liberal
applications of salt on our roads.
Peter Nixon
- Middlesbrough, UK
I work as a contractor and we have had rust stain problems with the Corten steel. I am not sure this helps with the original question, but we have used a "blued" metal with a clear powder coat finish to achieve a nice mottled, but rust free look. The "bluing" is done by hand, I believe it is the same chemical used to maintain gun barrels. (at least, that is where I first heard of it)
Colin Thompson
- Los Angeles, California
I AM BUILDING CUSTOM HOMES MADE OF CORTEN. WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TO GET THE WHOLE HOUSE TO RUST EQUALLY IS TO HAVE IT SODA BLASTED. IT IS LIKE SAND BLASTING, BUT USE A BAKING SODA TYPE MEDIUM. AS FOR THE INTERIOR WALL PANELS THERE IS A PRODUCT THAT DOES SEAL THE MATERIAL, BUT IT IS AN OIL BASED PRODUCT AND DOES TAKE A LONG TIME DRY IN. IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF REMOVING PAINT OR GRAFFITI IS TO SODA BLAST IT. THE BLASTING WILL NOT ROUGHEN UP THE SURFACE.
CHRIS MILLER
STRUCTURAL STEEL FABRICATOR AND INSTALLER - PHOENIX, ARIZONA
Looking for the follow up on Mr. Goff's interior Corten questions.
I too am building and we are using Corten to clad fireplace, hearth
and surrounding wall. We are looking for help in areas of thickness
used, mounting, and sealing so customer won't get it on
themselves.
FH
Fugly Heathen
- Madison, Wisconsin
Should Corten steel panels rust to the point that you can rub the color off easily?
Robert Vtinreo
installer - Watertown, Minnesota
Is Corten Steel good for manufacturing boats? Is it good in water environment if painted?
Norman Parmley
student - New Bern, North Carolina
Even rusting of weathered steel? I am creating an outdoor sculpture (about 2.2 m high x 2.5 m wide) of 6 mm thick weathered steel and need the surface to rust uniformly and quickly. I have only a couple of months to get it to a reasonably even surface, and there are laser cut outs in the steel. The sculpture will be installed outside. Any suggestions?
Chris Cathie
sculptor - New Zealand
In a previous life I have priced work for an award winning architect named Sean Godsell, who regularly specifies Corten as an exterior cladding on the houses he designs(often in coastal environments). To accelerate the corrosion process he requests that "Penetrol" be applied(commonly used as a paint thinner). It proves to be very successful. I also believe that the Corten can be later sealed for internal use, however I'm not certain of the appropriate paint to use.
David Down
construction - Melbourne, Australia
I want to follow up on the discussion of Corten steel in signs. I'm interested in using Corten as dimensional letters/graphics on a monument sign. As the material oxidizes to its stable state should I anticipate streaking on the face of the sign?
Gary Fedota
- Atlanta, Georgia
August 5, 2008
I wondering if i could get the same results as Corten with any
other metal? I am looking for some other product which give me the
rusty look but no stain or at least not too much.
Thanx
mario gonzalez
architect - NYC, New York
November 25, 2008
I am looking for some Cor-Ten samples; including corrugated, and
perforated.
Can anyone recommend a reputable company that will provide specs with
the sample?
Any ideas for other interesting metals for exterior uses?
Tim Koelle
artist - NYC, New York
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November 28, 2008 Hi, Tim. This site can only exist courtesy of supporting advertisers; and supporting advertisers don't exist who will pay for the posting of testimonials to their competitors :-) So I hope the readers can suggest the other interesting materials you are looking for but we can't print recommendations of suppliers. Sorry. Regards,
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the Corten steel finish can be coated using a water based coating Perma Coat then finished coated with Master Clear from Modern Masters. I have seen this effect extensively used in Spain and Portugal.
neil cody
design - Vancouver, BC, Canada
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March 28, 2009 I love Corten steel for its color and turn it into
women. Willemine van
Laarhoven
March 28, 2009 For cold steel, she's quite "hot", Willemine :-) Regards,
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MY ISSUE IS A SIMPLE ONE. I HAVE USED CORTEN SQUARE TUBING, SQUARE
BAR, AND FLAT BAR TO BUILD A BEAUTIFUL GAZEBO AND RAILING IN MY
BACKYARD. IT HAS RUSTED TO A BEAUTIFUL DEEP REDDISH RUSTY COLOR THAT
ONLY CORTEN CAN DO.
BUT IT CONTINUES TO DRIP RUST ONTO MY GRAY GRANITE PATIO, DISCOLORING
AND STAINING IT. I DON'T KNOW IF I SHOULD NOW SEAL IT TO STOP FURTHER
RUST DRIPS, WHETHER ANY TYPE OF SEALER SHOULD BE USED THAT WILL NOT
DISCOLOR MY EFFORTS AND HOLD UP OVER THE YEARS, OR ANY OTHER SOLUTION
TO MY PLIGHT. I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY AND ALL HELP.
LOUIS HOWARD
- WESTPORT, MA. USA
Has anyone tried - or know of - using Corten Steel as a planter in a fountain? Wondering if it will completely corrode, or it will retain its structural integrity. The architect is using Corten and we'd like to stick with the same material.
Barry Miller
Design Studio - Miami, Florida, USA
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May 31, 2009 Greetings, Jim Wilder
July 9, 2009 We are a window manufacturer that produces windows in Cor Ten steel among other materials. The engineer that says it should not be used for windows should know that it is very common in Europe where our system comes from. It is quite expensive about three time the cost of galvanized steel. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, I myself do not like the look but some do. It requires no maintenance. Richard Sussman
Hi I saw a person rolling on what he called an Oil based
smelly coat coat to seal that sexy rusty metal
artwork. Max Golem
July 16, 2009 We are a distributor of high end architectural windows. One of our products is available in Corten steel. The way we treat the finish is after fabrication it's allowed to weather for 2-3 weeks to develop the desired patina. The loose "dust" is then removed and a coat of wax sealer is hand applied giving it a very unique leather-like look. This finish lasts indefinitely. Corten if left alone will take 2-4 years to reach it's peak patina and then should remain in that state with very little change. Bill Polinsky
October 1, 2009 Has anything conclusive been offered in terms of stopping
the rusting process of Corten? Mario C.
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