Anodizing	A chemical/electrical process for coloring aluminum.
Blackening	A chemical process resulting in a “black” color, usually applied to steel or stainless steel. A black finish on brass would be called “Flemish gray.”
Brass	An alloy of copper (usually around 70%), zinc, and sometimes lead.
Breakforming	A way of bending sheet or plate metal. This process involves large equipment and results in a soft or “radiused” edge at the bend line.
Bronze	An alloy of copper and other elements combined for specific characteristics. Bronze usually has greater tensile strength than brass.
Cladding	The lamination of various metals to solid structures to achieve a specific design statement.
Cold Rolled Steel	Low carbon content steel; has no mill scale. Available in flatbars and sheets up to 10 gauge (.1345″). Offers a more uniform surface finish than Hot Rolled Steel. Sharp corners are characteristic of flatbars.
Copper	Usually specified in terms of ounces per square foot. We normally use 16 oz. copper (also called 24 gauge) for cladding. Copper is much softer than Brass or Bronze, and challenging to color if green is not the goal.
Electroplating	A chemical/electrical process that deposits an even layer of decorative metal, e.g., brass, nickel, copper, gold, chrome, zinc, silver, on a base metal such as steel.
Etching	In our context, synonymous with patination.
Galvanizing	A hot dip process for coating steel parts with a thick layer of pure zinc. This is not the same as zinc plating (see electroplating, above).
Hot Rolled Steel	Low carbon content steel. It has a surface layer of dark-colored mill scale. Available in sheets, plates, and shapes such as angles, flatbars, channels, I-beams, etc.
Laser	A cutting process that works best on ferrous metals up to 1/2″ thick. More precise than waterjet, it can produce a nearly polished edge on materials up to 1/8″ thick.
Patination	Originally, the coloring of copper alloys such as brass, bronze, and copper. Now, more widely thought of as coloring any metal chemically.
Pickeling	A Chemical process that removes mill scale, to expose the true surface of the metal.
Plasma	A cutting process currently available at most steel distribution companies. The least precise of the three techniques discussed here.
Stainless Steel	Corrosion resistant steel containing at least 11% chromium and up to 22% nickel. Commonly seen with a finely sanded finish, stainless looks more organic when blackened.
Shading	A painting process using a stain or dye to adjust topcoat color.
Waterjet	A cold cutting process using a jet of water mixed with abrasives, applied in a fine stream under extreme pressure. It works well on most materials and is more precise than plasma. There are no heat distortion effects.
Zinc	Like copper, often used as a roofing material. Can be applied by electroplating, or by hot dipping (Galvanizing). Zinc can be finished in pewter tones.