Already a few years ago now, I posted about wanting to make the marker for my folks’ grave and I’ve still not done it. Going to use a natural low-setting stone like columnar basalt and I want to mark a metal plaque to mount on it. Even with today’s technology and googling until my eyes burn, I’m having a very difficult time finding out what kind of metal would best withstand outdoor conditions…or even what kind of a sealant would help further that end. Others have suggested just using granite or marble or something similar, but I have my heart set on a metal plaque.
So…I pose this here as a question to all of you all-knowing all-seeing gurus. You’re my go-to people for being incredibly smart and innovative.
Thank you…my son-in-law says that brass will corrode. *
*edit. Son-in-law says that the darkening that occurs on brass is corrosion and that after a period of time, any text would become illegible. The metal itself might stay a long time, but the information on it would go away.
Titanium. I don’t think Cermark will mark it though (not sure, might be worth a try). But CNC could engrave with diamond mills (pretty common - I used them on glass before).
Or cut the lettering out with plasma and leave the underlying stone coming through.
@jkopel…you’ll remember him from our early days…did something with titanium. I’d have to do a search on here to see what happened. Thanks for your ideas/thoughts.
Even if it does tarnish, it’s relatively easy to polish back up again and recoat. a normal coat here in Vegas lasts about a good year or so. My sister’s highschool boyfriend, we visit his grave every year and clean it up. Most years it’s very quick touch up. one year we had to really dig in and remove old first and re-lacquer,
edit: we believe we have issues because of Lye that is used at that graveyard.
Stainless steel, brass, aluminum and probably a few others would all last a very long time. I don’t think the cermark or what ever would last nearly as long as the metal itself. My choice would be a cnc engrave on thick brass.
the actual anodized aluminum, using electricity to change the color of the aluminum, holds indefinitely. And exposed aluminum makes it’s own coating as soon as it’s exposed to air.
Anodized aluminum marked on the GF will last a long time in the outdoors. The dye will fade over time in most cases, but you are talking years unless it is cheap dye. Because the anodized coating stays in place and you are just removing the dye the aluminum will stay protected.
Engraved brass will not corrode to the point that the engraving will be gone. It will patina to black over time, but the engraving will not go away. Surface marking will also not go away. The patina is copper oxide, which creates a protective layer on the brass. Brass is often used in ship fittings because it doesn’t corrode quickly, even in sea air.
Marked stainless steel would be another option. It would keep its look over many years as it also creates its own oxide protective layer, it is just really thin and you don’t see it.
Titanium would be fine also, but an expensive option.
One more question…when looking at brass sheets, it says this; " Covering: Pvc 1 Side"…may I assume that means that there’s plastic masking on one side?
Yes, scratch protection. You would leave it on for routering or water jet cutting. If you water jet, it is good idea to remove the PVC after cutting, as the water will sneak under the PVC and dry leaving very unsightly stains.