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Perforated metal finished to look like antique copper

Up to now our company has worked exclusively in wood. We have recently received a couple commissions for larger versions of our daVinci Flying Machine model. While still made of wood, the required wing covering is copper or something that looks like antique copper. We were prepared to do the finishing work on copper, but the expense of the material and custom perforation is well beyond our budget. Our need: If we use a mild steel of around .020 gage, .250 hexagon perforation x .281 staggered (79% open area), how would we go about finishing it to look like copper that has been fired?

Michael O'Reilly
model kits & commissions - Windsor, Ontario, Canada
2003

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Hi, Michael. If you get the steel fully clean (use tampico scrub brush ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and scrub with powdered pumice ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and some detergent like Spic and Span ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , you should be able to get an inexpensive copper color by just sponging on some copper sulphate ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] .

If the in-house quality isn't good enough, you can send the material out to a plating shop for real copper electroplating. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
October 20, 2009