Our Materials

What you need to know about weathering steel

We love beautiful Cor-Ten Steel. Also known as weathering steel, Cor-Ten steel is a steel alloy that has been developed to eliminate the need for painting.

Once exposed to a natural weathering process the steel transforms into a beautiful stable deep brown patina that varies in appearance. The properties of the steel mean that the surface rusts and the inhibitors in interior layers of the steel prevent the rust from going deeper.

This means your products will last a lifetime.

When you receive your products initially, they will be the colour of Blue Steel but will change over time as shown below, however, The Outside can pre-rust the steel before installation to avoid any leaching issues.

Painting Cor-Ten Steel

The Outside can apply a simple specialist clear coat product to seal Cor-Ten steel. The clear coat changes the appearance of the steel from Matt to more Satin through to a Gloss surface finish. This can give beautiful alternative effects for the rusting steel look.

How Cor-Ten Steel changes over time

The image below shows the colour of Cor-Ten steel as it appears originally (see Kea Artwork), on a background of how it will eventually look.

About our Powder Coated Aluminium products

The Outside use specific folding grade Aluminium which is designed specifically for fabrication.

Once laser cut, the components are put through an industrial sheet sanding and deburring machine.

This one small step in the process produces a massive difference in results. Soft edges on designs allow for a quality production and a safe product, while greatly enhancing the adhesion of coating finishes so they stay looking great for longer.

All our Aluminium screens are powder coated using the Dulux Powder Coating system that is professionally applied during the manufacturing process, prior to installation.