In short
Bronze color is a warm gold-brown, from a polished shine to almost black, and in real bronze it also has a depth, shine and patina that ordinary paint can't give. We make it as a liquid metal coating with real bronze powder and as a finish on solid bronze, in our own production facility.
What color is bronze?
The color of bronze is a warm gold-brown, deeper than brass and less yellow. Polished, it glows a warm gold. Darkened, it turns brown, almost black. So when people talk about a bronze tone, they really mean a family of tones, not one color.
With us it has three familiar faces. Polished bronze with an almost mirror shine, smoked patina bronze with dark clouds and warm brown depth, and blackened bronze, near black, with warmth rising through it in the light.
What is bronze made of, and why does its color change?
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. The copper gives it warmth, and the tin pulls it toward a deep gold. It is one of the oldest metals people have worked.
Like any metal with copper in it, bare bronze reacts with the air. It darkens slowly and over the years takes on a brown and sometimes greenish patina. We bring that on by hand, on purpose, and then seal the finish under a clear coat, so it stays in the tone you approved. On surfaces people touch all day we choose a ceramic clear coat.
Bronze paint or real bronze?
Bronze paint for metal, the kind you buy in a can, gives you a color. Real bronze gives you light as well. Metal can be polished, brushed and given a patina, and light breaks across it differently from every angle. Metallic paint gives a metal shine in an even, clean color, and that's a good choice when it is exactly what you want. We wrote about paint types in our article on architectural painting.
We make real bronze two main ways. Liquid metal coating is a bronze coating made of real bronze powder in a binder, on MDF, wood, metal, aluminum and stainless steel. It is lighter than solid bronze and works on shapes that are hard to build from sheet. And if the piece is already solid bronze, we finish it directly, through Metal Finishes on Solid Metals.
There is also a third way, arc wire spraying of bronze onto steel and aluminum. And how the coating itself works, we explain in our article on liquid metal coating.
Which bronze tones do we make?
Polished Bronze is warm bronze polished to an almost mirror shine. It catches the light of the room and suits reception desks, lobby trims and handles. We make it as a liquid metal coating and on solid bronze.
Smoked Patina Bronze is darker, with smoky clouds and warm brown depth breaking through them. It gives walls, lobbies and counters a quiet, grounded mood, and we make it both ways.
Blackened Bronze is near black, with warmth rising through it in the light and a soft satin sheen. It gives doors and walls weight and calm, and we make it as a liquid metal coating.
And that isn't every option. To order we make more bronze tones and metal blends of your own, as a liquid metal coating and by spraying too. You'll find every finish in our collection, and if you want a brown with the character of rust, read about Corten steel.
Where does bronze work best?
Bronze works best where people come in, in the lobby, at the reception desk and at the front door. Bronze gives a space warmth and weight without shouting. In hotel and office lobbies it works on walls, columns and desks, and on feature walls and wall cladding it turns one wall into the heart of the room.
At home it goes into the kitchen, the stairs and the railings. The bronze kitchen in Rishon LeZion, designed by Ilanit Shilon, has aged bronze on the fronts, the wall panels and the wine cabinet, and the bronze stairs in the same house have brushed satin with a soft patina. And in Jerusalem, in a house designed by Drorit Shapira, a bronze railing curls up every flight of stairs.
How do you choose a bronze tone?
With your eyes and your hands. A bronze tone changes with the light, with the finish type and with what stands next to it, stone, wood or fabric. That's why we always start from a sample.
Pick samples from our sample set, or ask for a sample made for your project, and look at it where the piece will stand. From sample approval to finished pieces usually takes 2 to 4 weeks, and everything is made in our own production facility.
