Advantages of Our Proprietary Alternative Coating to Create the Look of Oxidized Metal Instead of Chemical Oxidization

At Gemini, we can chemically oxidize red metal letters, logos, and plaques to age a metal’s appearance, but what if there was a way to create the look of oxidized metal without using chemicals?

We are offering an alternative to traditional oxidization methods that does not require chemicals at a reduced cost compared to chemical oxidization.

What is metal oxidization? 

Metal oxidization is a reaction of a metal surface and oxygen over time. With chemicals, we speed up the process.

We take red metal letters, logos, and plaques and use harsh chemicals to change the metal’s appearance from its natural state to a more aged look.

Oxidized cast bronze letters "Euless" over a flat cut bronze Texas logo.

This traditional process involves submerging red metal letters, logos, or plaques in a chemical bath for a set amount of time. Our red metal alloys can be oxidized in three levels - light, standard, and dark. The longer the letters sit in the chemical bath, the darker the oxidization. After letters, logos, and plaques sit in the chemical bath until they reach the desired oxidization, they are cleaned, dried, and clear-coated with a low-gloss clear coat to seal the finish.

Chemical Oxidization Levels

	Light Oxidized	Standard Oxidized	Dark Oxidized
Brass
Bronze

There are some limitations with this traditional method, which include,

• Material size. We can chemically oxidize letters, logos, and cast plaques up to 29 inches by 29 inches and precision tooled or etched plaques up to 18 inches by 24 inches. Any letter or plaque over these sizes cannot be chemically oxidized due to our chemical bath size capabilities.
• Material control. We chemically oxidize letters, logos, and plaques individually, which may cause the oxidized metal to vary in appearance from letter to letter and order to order.

What is an alternative to chemical oxidization?

To create the look of oxidized metals without using chemicals, we can employ a proprietary alternative coating on letters, logos, and plaques.

The process starts by painting the returns and backs of the letters black, then stroke-sand the face before applying an alternative oxidized coating. We apply several coats to achieve the desired oxidization (light, standard, or dark). Then, we spray a final clear coat to seal the letter or logo.

	Brass logo in dark. Chemically oxidized triangle on top, our alternative coating on the bottom piece.
	Copper logo in our alternative coating, standard.
	Bronze logo in standard. Chemically oxidized triangle on top, our alternative coating on the bottom piece.

Our proprietary alternative coating allows for greater material control and consistency from letter to letter with no upcharge cost. This method has no size restriction because if we can cut or mold the letter, we can use this method to achieve the oxidized look. This method is also more environmentally friendly as we do not have to discard harsh chemicals.

Comparison Table

	Light	Standard	Dark
Brass
Bronze
Copper Only available in our alternative oxidized coating

If you have existing chemically oxidized signage, we can closely match the letters with this new, alternative method; however, it will appear slightly different than chemically oxidized letters compared side-by-side. 

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