However, the darker the patina is to start with, generally the slower the changes are over time.Įnvironmental factors specific to your home and chemicals that may be exposed to the surface of your sink are the great unknown.
In choosing a medium, dark, or oil-rubbed finish you still have a living finish that will evolve. In creating these finishes, the metal has likely been exposed to a chemical bath and or heat causing a reaction with the metal and changing its color. If you choose a copper sink that has a medium, dark or oil-rubbed finish heat and/or chemicals have been applied to speed up and mimic the aging process. So, what happens to the metal finish over time? The answer depends your finish choice and how the patina is applied when the sink is made, the environmental factors involved in your home, how much it is used and the type of care and maintenance you have decided to go with. With uncoated brass, nickel silver, bronze, and copper the patina or oxidation process occurs more rapidly. Nickel is also occasionally referred to as “non-living finish,” though nickel will patina or “tarnish” as well.
However the surfaces of these products can also dull over time depending on the environmental factors involved and how well they are cared for. Stainless steel products are often referred to as “non-living”. In effect many of the artisan crafted copper, brass, nickel silver and bronze sinks are not sealed and will have a true living finish. However, these coatings (PVD, powder coating and others) are more difficult to apply to a larger surface area such as that of a sink and require a mass production manufacturing process. Faucet and drain manufacturers generally address this issue with coatings that protect the metal surface from environmental factors preventing the patina or oxidation of the finish. The term “living finish” comes up most often regarding copper sinks. Over time, the finish will oxidize with use, adding more character and uniqueness to your custom piece. Without an added protective coating, these materials are allowed to age gracefully in their natural state in what is referred to as the living finish.
Texas lightsmith nickel sink how to#
Watch the video for inspiration on how to incorporate repoussé into your Texas Lightsmith project.Ī living finish is often a much sought-after look when buying a copper, brass, bronze or nickel silver sink. Texas Lightsmith artisans are skilled in this venerable process to create unique one of a kind functional art products. This kind of imprinting a design into metal does not typically result in the fine detail associated with genuine repoussé, and doesn’t allow for cost-effective intricate one-off custom designs. Bas-relief (low relief) repoussé is often confused with a mass production process of “rolling” or “stamping” designs into metal with special forming machines. The repoussé design is created by raising the image from the back using special hammers and chasing fine details from the front. The term Repoussé is derived from the French word pousser, “to push forward.” The techniques of Repoussé are found worldwide from ancient times, such as the gold mummy mask of Tutankhamun, to today, as demonstrated in the Statue of Liberty. Repoussé is an ancient skill used in metal craft to create beautiful images in malleable metals. This month’s blog topic is the on the art of Repoussé. For a limited time, Bar/Prep/Utility Sinks are 25% Off!.
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