Creative Forgings
Michael Leggett: Blacksmith and Patina Artist
770.853.6812
Patina
This particular job was the customer's design. It has a bronze patina finish with black highlights. I have a set of inverted dies
for my power hammer so I can in-house forge this custom cap rail. (You can't buy it, hence the 'custom'!) It is forged out of
3 inch by 1/4 inch flat stock. The hand rail up the far wall is made out of the same material. I sponged the patina on heavy to
give it a textured look, and after I rubbed it back out, it gave it an old-world look with the black highlights applied.
A large construction company that I work for approached me with a situation. They had a DOT guardrail spec'd to be weathered, but only
the big center section was available in a non-galvanized finish. The end pieces had to be collapsible and were only available galvanized.
The first day we pressure washed, prepped, and primed the metal with a special primer. The second day was a second coat of special primer,
and the third day was the first coat of the base for the actual patina. The fourth day was the second coat of patina base coat and our tinting
agent. I had myself and two other guys helping and we finished this 100ft of guardrail in 4 days. The job process went well and the owners and
architect were pleased with the finished product. I am residential and commercially insured, so feel free to contact me to discuss any unique project.
End result: in four days the DOT guardrail went from galvanized to a
natural, weathered finish that didn't harm the galvanized finish.
Steel drain cover with hand rubbed patina finish for an "antiqued" look to help blend with
stamped concrete. The process consisted of bronze, black, and verde green applied in stages.
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