Try It Yourself!
Also see: Letters from Artists
I often receive emails asking for advice on how to do what I do.
Please note - this is a work in process. I will try to add more details later. If you have a particular question, I will try and answer it.
Where to buy copper:
Roofing suppliers are a great source for large sheets of pure copper at reasonable prices. I usually buy my copper from Chris Industries out of Chicago. By large I mean sizes up to 48" x 120", at thicknesses ranging from 12 oz per square foot (about .015 inch thickness) up to 48 oz. per square foot (.060 inch thickness). I learned that 12 oz copper is a little too lightweight for the work I do. 16 oz is just right.
Chris Industries will deliver or ship to you, or you can go pick it up yourself. If you don't have a large van or pickup, take some tape with you, roll the copper into cylinders, tape the cylinders, and then you can stack them in your trunk or back seat.
Chris Industries also sells aluminum and stainless steel in sheets.
Not so thick copper - Nimrod Copper at http://www.nimrodhall.com/ is a great source for your thinner copper from 1 mil to 10 mil. They have good prices and fast delivery. Say hi to Jim for me. I like to use their 5 mil copper for my embossing work.
Copper Foil - you can often find 12" rolls of thin gauge copper and brass at Dick Blick and other art & craft supply stores. St. Louis Crafts makes these products under their Maid-o'-Metal name. You may be able to find this foil at Michaels also. Pat Catan's usually sells copper and brass foil also.
Metal Salvage and scrap - check your local yellow pages. Copper and Brass Sales in Cleveland used to let the Art Students come in early on a Thursday to go through their scrap barrels - lots of unusual materials for $1/lb.
How to do patinas
Brazing - get some brazing rod (white flux covered works best) from Home Depot or Lowe's or your welding supply shop and use a #5 tip with your oxy-acetylene setup. Get the copper red hot (but don't blow a hole in it!) and then start making circles with the brazing rod. I draw a line beforehand with a magic marker so I don't get lost. Wear your goggles! You don't want to scorch your retinas with the ultraviolet rays. Tin Man makes a great pair of goggles for flame work.
Use very good ventilation! You don't want to be breathing those flux and copper fumes!
Note that you will have to put wet towels over your brazing overnight in order to properly remove that white flux residue. If you don't, it will react with moisture in the air at a later date and start turning your piece green. Examine your brazing carefully after soaking and make sure all that white flux has been removed!
Fire - this is one of my favorite patinas. I use an oxy-acetylene setup with a rosebud tip underneath the copper. Wear your biggest thickest gloves! I support the copper on bricks and get under it with the torch. Don't try to talk to your significant other while doing this - you'll blow a nice hole right through your beautiful copper! Do a little area then immediately wash it off with the hose or under the faucet. Don't let it air cool! When you've finished an area you like, cover it with a wet towel and move on to the next area.
Again - use good ventilation and don't set your garage on fire!
Fire and Salt - this is my secret for the fantastic multi-colored, speckled red-orange-black-brown designs. Get the copper red-hot and start sprinkling salt on it. Wash it off as soon as you turn off the torch. Is salt bad for the grass? I don't know but ask your wife if she cares. Sweep up the salt when it gets on your concrete floor. It attracts moisture and makes a mess. Seal with Ron Young's wax or Krylon.
Flame - This is how you get the beautiful rainbow colors on copper. With this technique, I am working the copper from above with a #1 or #3 tip on my Harris oxy-acetylene setup. This takes a lot of practice and experimentation. The rainbow colors are actually derived from the thin-film interference effect as also seen in soap bubbles and oil slicks. Put the heat on, then take it off. Amazing blues, violets, greens, pinks and yellows. Unfortunately, these will not stay as they are - the copper will continue reacting with oxygen in the air until they all disappear. So you have to cover them with wax (not so pretty) or spray Krylon (triple glaze is my favorite, for the wet look). And regrettably, though still beautiful after the Krylon, about 50% of the beauty disappears when the protective coating goes on.
Vinegar - spray it on, then cover it with a layer of wrinkled plastic. Let it sit for a day or two, longer if it's winter. Note: 1 mil plastic film with vinegar turns the copper red. 10 mil plastic film with vinegar turns the copper green. Now why does that happen? Wear gloves when handling. Copper acetate is not good for you. Seal with Krylon Clear Gloss or Triple Glaze.
Ammonia - try the ammonia tent idea - set up small dishes of ammonia inside a plastic tent - weigh down the edges with angle iron to trap the vapors inside - let it go a few days.
I love the way ammonia smells but my wife hates it. Be nice to your spouses, ok?
Note: Anhydrous ammonia, what the farmers use and inject in the ground to get nitrogen into the soil, can be very deadly. Handle with care! If you can find some, it will give you results very quickly, I hear. (Don't let your local meth lab know what you're doing. They use it in their process for turning ephedrine hydrochloride into crystal meth. I hear there is a crime wave going on in the farm belt, people stealing Mr. Farmer's anhydrous ammonia). I advocate using the stuff you buy at the supermarket, 38% strong, gallon container.
Ammonia and salt - this will give you a fabulous blue color. Mix the salt with the ammonia in your spray bottle and spray it on the copper. Cover it with a wrinkled-up plastic sheet. Weigh down the edges with angle iron. Let it sit for a few days. Dry then spray with Krylon.
salt water -
bleach - lovely delicate iridescent colors..
drano, lye, sodium hydroxide - black
shoe polish
acrylic paint
oil paint
Good ways to strip clean copper
By this I mean taking all the patina and
oxidation off of the surface of the copper, rendering the copper surface as pure
as possible
vinegar and salt
Jasco Prep & Prime
Sparex
Naval Jelly
Wire brush, scrubbee, sand paper
Hand-held electric grinder with knotted wire brush attachment - works great but really hardens the metal - you may not want this. Wear gloves so as not to abrade your skin.
hand-held electric grinder with 3M scrubbee pads - this is my favorite - you can get it from Enco
phosphoric acid containing products
Good ways to clean copper without stripping it
Detergent and water
Acetone - this is the best choice. Be sure to use a clean cloth or rag. MEK isn't as good.
Lacquer thinner, xylene and some other solvents sold at Home Depot seem to have a small amount of oil in them.
How to cut copper
Wiss snips - use non-serrated blades. Comes in both right-handed and left-handed designs. Get one of each.
Band saw
Scroll saw
Oxy-acetylene torch
Plasma cutter
Olfa wheel - this works really well on thin copper
Scissors also works on thin copper
Air nibbler
Air shear
How to Weld Copper
Soldering - I usually use the Oatey flux and solder that they sell at Home Depot. Lowe's sells a water-based flux made by Sterling which works even better. The problem with the vaseline-based Oatey flux is that it runs everywhere when it gets hot. Then its hard to clean up. Remember the solder should look shiny when you are done. If it is dull colored, you are using too much heat.
Brazing - I use Silvaloy 15 silver braze and buy it at my Welding Supplier. I also use flux-wrapped brass/bronze. I usually use a #4 tip with my Harris oxy-acetylene torch.
Torch
Mig
TIG - yes you can TIG copper! I can lap weld 12 oz. copper (.015 thickness). Use DC negative and set the amps at 150. The secret is you have to use a strike plate. Get a thick piece of copper for your strike plate and get the arc going on that - it will stabilize in a few seconds, then you can move on to the thinner stuff. You have to get the heat up then, as soon as you see the color change (the arc will turn greenish), back way off on the foot pedal. I use 16 gauge wire and strip off the insulation.
How to Shape Copper
Bender
Roller
Shrink
Stretch
Bead roller
hammer
Rio Grande
Tin Man
How to glue copper
Polyurethane glues likes Gorilla glue - these work very well with both metal to wood and metal to metal. For metal to wood, apply the glue to the metal then clamp the metal to the wood. This stuff is a water-cured isocyanate foam product and sometimes the foam action will displace the alignment of the metal and the wood if you don't securely clamp and tape the two pieces together. For metal to metal, apply a thin coat of the glue to each surface, mist both surfaces with a fine spray of water, then clamp and glue together.
Weldwood/Dap Contact cement - use the solvent-based gel formulation. Note that on the can it says 'don't use on copper'. The trick is that you have to use a oil-based primer on the copper first. Wire brush the back of the copper, spray on an automotive oil-based primer and let it dry at room temperature for a few days. Even better - put the primed copper in front of an LPG heater and really bake it hard. The glue will tend to act like a stripper with the the primer so don't do any more brushing than you absolutely have to. If wood is the other part of your laminate, the glue will soak into the wood and dry fast - you may need two coats or, my preference, varnish the wood first then let that dry, before applying the glue. The secret to success with this glue is that it should be just slightly dry/tacky but not soft squishy wet. Use a high-powered heat dryer to dry any wet areas before you try to stick the copper to the wood or aluminum. Use silicone release paper in-between the two glue-prepped surfaces - line them up properly, then pull back the paper in one corner, press the glued surfaces together, then slowly remove the rest of the paper and press of the rest of the glue. You will now need to beat it with a dead-blow hammer (75 pound per square inch) for about an hour, longer if the copper is warped from heat treatments. Let the assembly sit at room temperature for a few days. Any lifting will have to be repaired later with polyurethane glue.
Epoxy - doesn't stick unless you prime the copper first. Use an automotive type oil-based primer over wire-brushed copper. Lots of epoxies to try, depending on your needs. 3M is very helpful.
Other sources
Check out Ron Young's website at www.sculptnouveau.com/ - great info on patinas, waxes, etc.
Other ideas
raku
clay glazes
enamels
repetitive micro-folding with a tube roller
The Art & Craft of Paper Sculpture - remember - copper is a lot like paper, just thicker. And just like paper, you can cut it, fold it, bend it, weave it, pop it up, etc.
Copper is waterproof - bowls, vases, fountains
Wall sculptures
masks
clothing - ties - belts
jewelry - be sure to coat with krylon or incralac. otherwise the copper reacts with your body oils and you will start absorbing copper
How to get rid of excess copper in your body - IP-6 with inositol is supposed to do the trick. I take a few when I start to feeling overexposed.
Note - copper absorbs a huge amount of energy from sunlight. A copper bikini is not a good idea! Copper bird baths will scald the birds! Copper roofed bird houses will cook the birds!
Aluminum
Where to buy aluminum
Chris Industries
Alro Steel
Properties of aluminum
Types of aluminum - 1100, 3003
How to cut aluminum - bandsaw, scroll saw, plasma torch, shears
How to shape aluminum
How to paint aluminum - aluminum is notoriously hard to paint. Water-based acrylics won't stick. Oil-based paints will stick. Solvent-based polyurethanes will stick. Acrylic-latex seems to stick. Epoxies will stick.
How to weld aluminum - aluminum is notoriously hard to weld - MIG welding is my favorite technique. I use a Lincoln Electric Power Mig 300 and set it on pulse-pulse. It gives a beautiful bead. Be sure to push the gun - don't pull it.
How to glue aluminum - someone told me he uses Goop. I like to use 3M epoxies.
Aluminum other techniques - anodize, wire brush, polish, weave aluminum
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