Solanum Steel™

WEATHERING STEEL, PREWEATHERED

Solanum Steel is a pre-oxidized weathering steel (Corten) surface developed by Zahner. The surface is produced by accelerating the natural weathering process and stabilizing the result. Solanum Steel provides artists, architects and designers with a range of resonant tones on an enduring surface.

One of the well recognized challenges of using steel in architecture is its propensity for the material to rust or oxidize. Although there are many who appreciate the visual nature of the warm hues of weathering steel, nobody likes it when the material’s color bleeds onto other surfaces. The Zahner preweathered steel process reduces the material’s tendency to stain adjacent surfaces.

FABRICATION: CORTEN STEEL OR SOLANUM STEEL?

Solanum Steel, weathering steel, copper-bearing steel, and COR-TEN (Corten) are all names for a durable subset of steel alloys (A-242 and A-588). These alloys are beneficial for art and architecture because of their long-term endurance in exterior conditions. Instead of corroding away, as these materials surfaces oxidize, the oxidized layer becomes a protective layer. This means that the surface won’t corrode further.

The issue with fabricators who use standard corten alloys, is that it takes a few years of exterior exposure before the material’s rust condition becomes stabilized. During this process, the material will bleed.

Solanum Steel resolves this challenge, by bringing the natural weathering steel alloy into an insoluble and stable state. This preweathered surface is accelerated in a dedicated Zahner facility for producing sheets and custom fabricated corten forms in Solanum Steel.