Surfaces

The Philosophy

Every metal surface that we offer is durable, each for different reasons. In certain atmospheric conditions, aluminum is more weather resistant than stainless, or copper more than zinc, and our expertise on these variables is best exemplified in the book Architectural Metal Surfaces, written written by CEO/President, L. William Zahner. Because of this, we believe in letting these conditions guide metal choice. We also believe in the inherent resilience of metal, and its natural protective coat, the Patina.

Patina is a word used to describe the natural barrier which forms on a metal's surface as a result of sun, wind, and moisture. People come to us wanting an exact color, asking us to paint the surface of the metal. We like to fall back on a metaphor to illustrate our preference for Patinas. A Patina is like cultivating wine, an organic process whose product evolves over time. The longer it ages, the further refined and elegant it becomes. Paint is cheap beer. Practically synthetic, paint will yellow, fade, peel, and deteriorate, because it is make-up on a face which doesn't need it.

Zahner offers a range of metal surfaces, including surfaces which have been mechanically produced, patinated, as well as custom surface altering products such as our MetaSystems™ Series and our Zira™ Process.

Featured Products

Solanum™ Preweathered Steel was developed by Zahner to provide a weathering steel product which reduces and in some cases, eliminates the bleeding commonly associated with weathering steel products.

Roano™ Zinc and other preweathered patinas on zinc have been developed by Zahner to provide a distinguished weathered surface to a product known for it's durability. Our preweathered Zinc is unique from competing preweathered zincs due to the stable result of our proprietary process. The zinc tone will change very little as it ages and weathers in the sun, wind, and water.

The Angel Hair™ Process was developed for surfaces requiring reduced reflectivity, with elegant light lines etched across the surface of each panel. Can be produced in various metals, including Stainless, Copper, Aluminum, and Nickel.

GB-60™ stands for a "Glass Bead" and "60" is the number corresponding with the size of the actual beads being shot at the metal. This is a computer guided machine blasting process which results in the most uniform bead-blast product on the market. Can be produced in various metals, including Stainless, Copper, Aluminum, and Nickel.

The Dirty Penny™ Patinated Copper Metal is one of the most durable dark patinas that can be done to mill copper. Produced by a rapid pre-weathering process, the metal often results in subtle iridescent hues beneath its dark surface, and is named for the many tones and hues seen in U.S. Mint Pennies.

The Hunter™ Zinc patinated surface is one of the most stable patinated surface in the world. The durable rustic surface is imbued with tones of limestone, and has been used on two major projects in the United States.

The Star Blue™ Copper patinated surface is a rapid pre-weathering process that brings out bold blues and greens in the surface of copper. This patina is one of the most stable patination processes on copper in the world, and has only been used on a select few projects.

The patinas featured above are a small selection of the many options available to architects. Any surface imaginable, we can create.

Unique Surfaces & Custom Colors

The surfaces offered above are just a few of the surfaces Zahner offers in metal. Zahner has the talented engineers and craftsmen to work with all metals.

Zahner uses a vast palette of metals, including aluminum, interference coated stainless steels, titanium, Monel, Muntz, blackened and gun blued steel, galvanized steel, and many others. Zahner can intensify and reduce reflectivity, alter the surface texture and tones, and create custom patinas for your project.

The expert craftsmen in the Zahner shop are able to both patinate these metal surfaces as well as work the unique alloy metal surfaces with custom tools designed for metals of varying properties. The knowledge base at Zahner is unmatched.

Partial List of Metal Panel Surface Options

Metal Information

Metal Hardness Chart comparing hardness of various alloys
Metal Density Chart comparing density and specific gravity
Thermal Movement expansion coefficients and expected expansion of various metals
Relative Cost Comparison of various metals, subject to change
Metal Thickness Chart for converting various metals

Metal Maintenance

Interior Stainless Cleaning guidelines for cleaning stainless steel
Cleaning Contaminates common contaminates and cleaning processes
Metal Aging Process of metal surfaces.
Reflectivity Chart comparing relative reflectivity between finishes.

News & Updates

"Zinc shows its mettle" - The Miami Herald 4/20/2013

Zahner's Director of Marketing, Gary Davis, discusses the benefits and uses of Zinc in architecture.