You received GrillSymbol or Petteri Wiimaa product and it does not look like on the picture? Do not worry, here we advise you how to treat COR-TEN® Steel to make it look like on the pictures.

 

What is COR-TEN® and SSAB Weathering steel?

COR-TEN® is high strength, structural steel with exceptional weathering resistance. The chemical composition of the steel allows for the creation of a layer of rust that coats a product  without altering the mechanical characteristics of the steel. This rust layer, not only protects steel products against the elements but also delivers a unique finish that stops most people in their tracks.  What’s more, it’s also more environmentally-friendly than traditional steel.

 

What to do?

As brand new, COR-TEN® looks  grey  as  hot-rolled traditional steel. The surface is originally reddish-brown (resembles the colour of rusting), which becomes darker within time

 There are two options how to season the surface: normal rust process or quick  version.

Normal process is simple: leave your COR-TEN® product outside, rain and humidity makes it rust. We have cleaned  surfaces by solvent- means the metal surface is ready to create rust. Depends on circumstances rust appears in 1-3 weeks.

Quick process  is to spray salt suspension on the metal surfaces. You have to repeat this 5-6 times. Suspension must be weak, about one teaspoon of salt per one litre of water.  Dissolve salt in warm water and spary. No other treatment needed, rain washes salt off.

When the Cor-Ten steel gets wet and the dries out, the rust layer becomes a little thicker, while the underlying solid steel becomes thinner.

COR-TEN® steel and stains: it does stain first year when it creates rust layer. When you put COR-TEN® steel product on a wooden terrace it stains the area below the product. When move the product you can clean this area with metal brush. When it comes to stone areas  some stones absorbe all stains and COR-TEN® steel may give brown color  to stones. After first year COR-TEN® stains very few.

 

COR-TEN®steel  products can hold  outside 365 days a year. No storaging needed.