The color of aluminum is a large concern in the construction industry. Whether for an outdoor park bench or an art presentation, colored aluminum is necessary to get the right look for the setting. Aluminum oxide is extremely strong and effective against weathering, and the process of anodizing aluminum allows coloring the metal with dyes that won’t flake or peel due to the electrochemical bonding process. Getting the right look also means doing so consistently throughout the project even while consuming many lengths of colored aluminum sheet metal.
Color Consistency Is the Main Concern of Aluminum Dying
Uniformity is historically one of the more common themes of building and construction. Some of the things that can influence the look of a metal are color, gloss, texture, and angle. These all add up to create a specific look. If they have all been done in the same way, they will look the same.
Texture includes grain which can appear to be a pattern on the surface of the aluminum. Because textures can vary widely from the same source, they pose an issue to consistency. Keeping a texture the same throughout will require the same machine to process the aluminum.
The coloring of metals will yield different results when the same dye is used on different metals. Color consistency is difficult to achieve with alloys and different qualities of aluminum. Purchasing anodizing quality aluminum ensures the same consistency of color in the aluminum all throughout. Anodized aluminum is unaffected by ultraviolet rays and allows the color to remain consistent even when different parts of a building receive varying amounts of sunlight.
Controlling the Color of Aluminum with External Factors
Different presses and mills can also have different effects on the metal. Wrisco can produce an identical color of aluminum for all of our sheet metal by processing our aluminum under identical conditions with a specific recipe of alloy and a singular high volume press. Though this is not always possible, a sample can be taken from one anodizing machine and used as a template for the other.
During the dying process, saturating the metal will also minimize the difference in color due to the precise miscalculations. The point at which a metal becomes saturated means it can’t take any more dye, so adding excess dye won’t change the color. This way every piece of saturated metal will have the same look. This also adds more resistance to the metal to keep the surface from wearing away and dulling the color or changing the texture. Angle also matters for installation. The color will change with a different reflection of light, so imitating a glass formation during construction will reduce this problem.
If color consistency is not necessary, a color range is nice. Wrisco offers many different colors to choose from when aluminum is needed for any project. Our prefinished colors will create a uniform look that expresses the theme or tone of the structure. Call us now at 800-627-2646 for more information.