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What's the best way to achieve a stained brown finish on Aluminum or Steel?

We are a national supplier of aluminum extrusions and powder coated or Stainless Steel brake metal to retailers all over the United States and Canada.

We are working with a large retailer to specify a stained steel or brass finish, similar to the bronze or black color achieved by using BeOx 312 or the EPI insta-black finish, but with more of a brown or copper color.

We have a sample of Statuary Bronze over .090 Naval Brass, which the customer likes, but wants a more brown / coppery look, not black.

We produced a powder coat color in-house, that the customer loves, but wants a stained metal that doesn't have the shine like the powder coat. We cannot duplicate the color without the shine, therefore we are looking at metal staining options.

As we have no experience in staining metals, we need an applicator to either produce the materials or teach us how.

Any input or information you can share would be greatly appreciated

Steven Elsenheimer
Design and Specifications Manager - Tampa, Florida, USA
January 16, 2008

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If you have decided that painting and powder coating do not offer the stained metal finish you are looking for, Steven, you do indeed need to stain or dye the metal instead. But aluminum and steel are entirely different. You should be able to anodize and dye aluminum to the exact look you seek. Our supporting advertisers will contact you in private to offer their application services. Good luck.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
January 23, 2008