Copper-Plated Plaques
WELCOME TO OUR GALLERY OF COPPER PLAQUES (STYLE CATEGORIES 1.2.5 & 1.2.6)
Welcome to our photo Gallery for our custom copper-plated copper plaques, where we show a few examples of various types of copper plaques in this photo gallery. We design and fabricate beautiful custom 3-D bas-relief and 2.5-D flat-relief copper plaques each year for courts, federal and state governments, military units, universities, clubs, and corporations. Each plaque is custom crafted by our experienced and skilled craftsmen and artisans. We use several techniques to provide increased contrast to make these authentic copper plaques more attractive and increase their readability such as dark patina and black or dark brown paint. We also make copper-plated plaques that utilize other features, such as 24K gold-leaf, and digitally-printed colored vinyl photos. All our copper-plated plaques are moisture-proof, non-fading, and graffiti-resistant. Fig 1 below shows an example of one of our copper-plated plaques.
Fig. 1 - This photo shows a copper-plated wall plaque for the US Coast Guard carved in 2.5-D flat relief . The artwork, border and text is polished, and the background is painted flat black.
Copper is a chemical element with symbol Cu (from Latin: cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal that has a reddish-orange color. Copper is constituent of various metal alloys, such as sterling silver used in jewelry. It was discovered in the Middle East around 9000 BC, and is the oldest metal discovered by man. Copper was the first metal to be smelted from its ore, c. 5000 BC, the first metal to be cast into a shape in a mold, c. 4000 BC and the first metal to be purposefully alloyed with another metal, tin, to create bronze, c. 3500 BC. Copper was named after Cyprus, the principal mining place in Roman era (Cyprium). Copper is mentioned in the Bible: "Men know how to mine silver and refine gold, to dig iron from the earth and melt copper from stone" (Job 28:1–2). It is used in buildings, usually for roofing, and oxidizes to form a green verdigris (or patina).The Statue of Liberty contains 179,220 pounds of copper. Copper is used in decorative art, both in its elemental metal form and in compounds as pigments. Excluding expense and weight, Copper plating is indistinguishable from solid cast copper. Copper is used as an alloy in both bronze (copper-tin) and brass (copper-zinc). Because of the variation in the relative amounts of copper in these metals, they are often referred to as copper alloys.
This Gallery describes and shows a few examples of our custom copper-plated plaques. We offer several choices for shape, colors and surface finishes. The prices for each of these different styles is given on the PRICE web page , listed under price code MC for various plaque sizes. Copper 3-D bas-relief plaques have higher prices than 2.5-D flat relief plaques because of the additional labor and time to carve and hand-sand the High-Density-Urethane (HDU) substrate that is then plated with the copper veneer. The plaque background can be smooth or can have a sandstone or wood grain texture.
STYLE VARIATIONS OF OUR COPPER PLAQUES
The copper metal can be given several different shades of color, from medium brown to quite reddish brown, depending on how it is mixed. It can be combined with brass or nickel-silver to lighten it, or bronze to make it darker. After the copper-plating has been applied, the elevated areas are polished and burnished. The more highly polished it is, the lighter and shinier the copper surface will be.
Hand-Rubbed Paint or Patina .The background of a bronze plaque can be lightly polished, in which case it looks dark copper. After the copper-plating has been applied, the background can be given a patina or painted, with several color choices, some of which are shown in the photos below. One technique that produces a very handsome plaque is to hand-rub dark brown or black paint into the background and on top of the polished copper lettering and artwork, then wipe the paint off while it is still wet, giving an antique look to the plaque. See MC3040 below for an example of this technique. Another technique is to apply a patina to the background. A patina is a coating which chemically combines with the copper, usually with oxidation, changing its color, with several color choices, some of which are shown in the photos below. This results in a dull, slightly variable finish where the patina is applied. We then polish and burnish the elevated area of the copper veneer to a high shine. Finally, we apply two clear coats to the finished copper plaque to protect it from oxidizing and turning green (verde); but this step can be omitted if you want the copper to age naturally.
Artist-Painted. Our artists can also paint some areas of our copper plaques in muted or vibrant colors. The background can be painted lighter or darker than the bronze, or it can be painted in blue, red, or green colors to enhance contrast. Artwork can be artist-painted in many colors, and text can be artist-painted in black or bronze colors.
Giclee Photo Appliques. Cast vinyl full-color, sepia or gray scale giclee photo appliques can be mounted on flat areas of any of our copper-plated plaques. This technique results in beautiful and elegant memorial or commemorative plaques, where the clarity and accuracy of a photo is enhanced by the 3-D bas relief artwork and 2.5-D text, background and border of the copper metal.
PLEASE CONTACT US
The prices for these styles for various size plaques is given on the PRICE web page (click here or on PRICE in gold masthead) , listed under Style Categories 1.2.5 and 1.2.6. Or, you can fill out and submit our on-line Request a quote form. You can also call or email us for a price quote on a specific plaque. One of our knowledgeable and helpful Customer Service Representatives, Christie, Regina, or Liz, will respond to your request promptly. You can call us at 951-698-8484 or email us at info@artsignworks.com.
We will work with you to design and build the exact plaque you want. We would like to make your plaque, and we are confident that you will be pleased with it. We take great pride in every product we make for our valued clients. We offer a 2 year warranty on all our products, and our indoor plaques will last many decades without degradation.
WEBSITE NAVIGATION
You can go to another Section or Gallery page by clicking on an item in the pull-down menus in the gold masthead at the top of the page. You can search for a specific plaque type (e.g., "FBI" ) by entering the key word in the search box in the upper right of the gold masthead. You can view a list and use the navigation bar for all 24 Gallery types by viewing the silver box on the left side of the HOME page. You can also view different types of plaques for different customer groups (e.g., State Courts or US Coast Guard) by clicking on the TYPE section in the gold masthead above. You can view a description of all of the different plaque styles by clicking on the plaque STYLE section also listed in the gold masthead.
To request information, a design, a quote, or to place an order, click on the text (e.g., "contact ", " quote", " file" or " order") in the upper right of the gold masthead at the top of this page. All prices are given on the PRICE page in the gold masthead.
For more information on design options, prices and delivery times, please call us at 951-698- 8484 or email us at info@artsignworks.com, and our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives Christie and Regina will be pleased to help you.
