BS Stainless: More Than Just Stainless Steel!
Though, as you can probably guess from the name of our company, we specialise primarily in stainless steel products, the fact is that BS Stainless also supplies a diverse selection of other materials. We will be focusing on just three of these materials in this edition of our blog.
COR-TEN
'COR-TEN', sometimes referred to as 'Corten steel', is the now-generic trademark name for weathering steel. This material can be traced back to the 1910s when the United States Steel Corporation (USSC) began a series of experiments in which varying amounts of copper were alloyed with steel before being exposed to the elements to see how they reacted. The studies continued until, in 1993, the USSC applied for the name 'COR-TEN) to be trademarked in order to commercialise their findings.
The chief advantage of Corten steel is its exceptional resistance to weathering, which makes it practically maintenance-free. Multiple uses have been found for the material, from industrial applications like architectural cladding to more domestic uses such as for creating things like fence panels, fire pits and planters. Corten steel is also a major component of Antony Gormley's famous Angel of the North sculpture in Gateshead.
Aluzinc
Aluzinc comprises steel sheet that has an alloy coating composed of 55% aluminium, 43.4% zinc and 1.6% silicon. The material is renowned for being a good substrate for organic coatings and can be directly painted without the need for any time-consuming preliminary surface treatments. Widely used in the ventilation and insulation industries, Aluzinc is also a popular material for creating wide sections to be used as wall cladding.
Supplied by BS Stainless as flat sheets or coils, Aluzinc can also be factory-applied with an acoustic barrier to enhance engineering properties: please see the SoundMet® page on our website for more details.
Lead Sheet
Lead has fallen out of favour somewhat in recent years and has a bit of a bad reputation that is mostly undeserved. The fact is that lead is 100% recyclable and also enjoys an A or A+ rating in the current BRE Green Guide. In sheet form, lead is not a significant health hazard; it is when the material is melted or becomes a dust, vapour or fume that its toxic properties become a danger.
Cost-effective, easy to form and particularly versatile, lead sheet from BS Stainless conforms rigidly to the BS EN 12588 standard and comes with a five-decade guarantee.
For more details about these materials, please visit the relevant product pages on our website. As always, our team of technical experts can be contacted directly if you have any further questions.