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world gathers for metal finishing
Q&As since 1989


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Applying Surface Texture to Sheet Brass

2007

I am a photographer working in an historic process called wet-plate collodion, dating to the civil war era. I'm currently trying to replicate the cases and mats that these types of images were cased in during the 19th century. I'm having some difficulty, however, replicating the surface texture of a particular type of mat and I'm hoping that someone on this list might suggest a solution.

I've been able to find the correct color sheet brass (70/30) with the appropriate thickness (.020"). My challenge is with the surface texture. I'm trying to create a simple dimple pattern in the surface--similar to the texture of rough sandpaper. I've tried 00 steel wool [on eBay or Amazon] and sandpaper, but they tend to just scratch the surface.

I would like to do this myself since I make all the other elements by hand. Many thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Mark Andrews
Artist - San Francisco, California, USA

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Find a company that fabricates heavy weldments or dedicates to cleaning of steel structures and that kind of work. They have potent air blasting equipment that uses sand (either natural or synthetic). For a rougher finish look for steel angular shot instead of sand. Good luck.
G. Marrufo-Mexico

Guillermo Marrufo
- Monterrey, Mexico
2007