3/16" Solid Brass Replacements? Thoughts?

[Stephen Beckham]

Got a customer who has several 2X8X3/16 Brass Plates on windows in a church. They want to upgrade them.

The problem is that they want the same look and feel with the same thickness and weight (because as you know the heavier the more expensive - right - even thought they'll be screwed to the window and nobody will get to feel how heavy they are - but I digress). They don't like the old look of the engraved brass because it had to be color filled in order to see the etching done by the original engraver (lighting in the church, etc) Everytime they clean the brass, it cleans out some of the color fill - so they want to upgrade... They want something they don't have to clean as often - and when they do, they don't want it to fade the letters.

They loved the richness and the darkness of the laser etching on the Aluma-mark. (Here comes the Butt-Monkeys...) "But, this is too thin and too cheap to put on the windows..." They want something a bit more classy.

Well - the jury is out - they've been mulling over my sample and they are researching other avenues with other engravers in the big city.

Romark won't work because of the black edge - I've thought about 'framing' a piece of romark with a small wood frame to match the window frame - they want it to stand alone atached to the window.

Any thoughts on a replacement I could offer - even if I had to sub it out...?

[Mike Null]

Steve

How about bronze or zinc?

[Joe Pelonio]

If you have a tax ID you can buy brass plaques wholesale from places like
Gemini and resell them.

http://www.signletters.com/MetalPlaques/plaques.shtml

[Rodne Gold]

Why not just apply the alumark to a brass backing.
Leave a small border of brass or go edge to edge

[Stephen Beckham]

Joe and Mike - thanks...

I like the zinc idea because that should give a good contrast with the etching.... Not sure if they'll like the brightness of the zinc compared to brass - but it would also look better with the poor lighting.

On the other hand - I've got a buddy who happens to be registered sign maker with the link Joe provided. I'm going to email him to see if he wants to get involved.

Thanks again - appreciate the quick advice...

[Kenneth Hertzog]

Have you thought about IKON metal
it can be laser engraved and it will polish
ken

[Scott Shepherd]

Stephen, I specifically looked at a couple of companies that did similiar items at a recent trade show. I saw the one Joe mentioned, Gemini, and they did have nice products. One other one that had the finest looking stuff at that show was Etchcraft in Portland. http://www.etchcraftline.com/index-2.html

They had amazing looking products. Worth a look there as well. I haven't dealt with them, so I'm only going by what I saw.

[Mike Null]

Steve

I most often use Pella Engraving for my zinc. They can make it look almost like bronze.

http://www.pellaengraving.com/index.html

[Stephen Beckham]

Mike - didn't think of them - I've got and account with Pella... Can the Cermark be used on Zinc?

Joe - Called those guys for a quote - the net price for a piece of 1/4 brass 2X10 was $44. The church waived that one off quickly.

Ken - thought about the Ikon Metal, but they want small text printed and wasn't sure if it would work - would still have to color fill it. I am dying to try the Ikon stuff eventually...


Wonderful advice guys - thanks again. I think my biggest issue at this point is the long time between their last purchase and this purchase. They've not kept up with the times and costs to do pieces like this. I'm going to keep on until I can get something for them or find someone that can - but I'm not going to give it too them because 'it didn't use to cost that much.'

Take care,

[Stephen Beckham]

Rodne,

Not sure how I missed you're suggestion - it was marked read for me - must have been lurking around and had the auto-read time click in for me...

I've thought about this and figured it would work the best, but I'm still back to a $44 piece of brass without anything done to it... Then add the cost of the AlumaMark and etching - they're gun shy already and wouldn't go for it...

Thanks again...

[Kenneth Hertzog]

Stephen
is that 2in x 8in x 3/16
if so I may have a piece left over from another job
ken

[Jack Harper]

Check out luminore.com. This is a metal painting process that can be applied to almost any substrate. The finishes are amazing and made of 75% true metals. I used this process to bronze my stair railings in my home. I am now in the process of becoming certified to do the process myself. If you contact the they will be able to tell you who in your area does the process. I am guessing they will do a free sample for testing to see if it would work for this and other projects.

[Mike Null]

Steve

The zinc will simulate bronze at less money and will be color filled when you get it.

[Stephen Beckham]

Ken - generous offer - thanks... I really appreciate it, but the old ones were 8", they want the new ones to be 10" and they need between 8 to 10 of them.

They are good hearted and just sticker shocked since they've not done something like this in several years...

Thanks again...

[Kenneth Hertzog]

Stephen
Sorry my brass pile is not that high. :(
The piece I have is .125 thick and 20+ inches long:)
If you want to work on a sample this would be it maybe.
How I came about to have this, I went to the local machine shop
and he had pieces of scrap in a barrel which he let me root thru.
then he charged me the same price that he would get at the scrap yard.
ken

[bruce cain]

Steve,
You mentioned that Rowmark would not work because of the black edge. How about their Ultra-Matte Reverse engravable, then paint fill the back? But the thickest they have is 1/8".


Bruce

[Angus Hines]

Ditto, excellent product just got done doing some door pushes for somebody and The stuff is awesome.


Have you thought about IKON metal
it can be laser engraved and it will polish
ken