Zinc, Brass, and Copper Finishes

Texture is the surface itself: none, light, or medium. Patina is the color and sheen on that surface: none, light, or medium. Choose the texture first, then the patina. Read: How to choose a zinc bar top finish →

No. Rust is iron breaking down. On zinc, brass, and copper, patina is a change in color and sheen at the surface, not damage to the metal underneath.

Zinc, brass, and copper, and yes: all three come in the same nine finishes, three textures and three patinas. Pick a finish once and you can carry it across every metal on the project.

Real metal. We use deposition to apply thin coats of material in a controlled manner to build up the surface, then sand and finish it in our shop. What you touch is real zinc, brass, or copper, and it ages like it.

Yes. These are living metals, so the patina keeps developing in service. Wax slows it down, and leaving the top unwaxed lets it develop faster. Raised, handled areas polish while recesses darken. How zinc, brass, and copper age →

Patinas are meant to change, and wax only slows them down. If a project needs a finish held in place, we can add a clear coat for a fee, coordinated with us. The same goes for other custom finish requests: tell us what you’re after, and with the right coordination a lot is possible.

Warm water, a mild dish soap, and a soft cloth to dry. Wipe acidic spills soon if you want fewer light spots. Skip bleach and ammonia-based cleaners; they don’t belong on a living metal.

It can leave a lighter spot. That’s the patina being removed, not damage, and it blends back in within a day to a week, depending on the acid and the spot. On a darker patina a light spot shows more contrast, so wipe citrus and wine up early if that bothers you.

It’s a design choice. We recommend a solvent-free carnauba paste wax, like Howard Wax-It-All: it slows the patina and makes spills easier to wipe up. Wax wears off with use, so reapply it when the finish looks dry. Unwaxed, the patina develops faster and with more variation.

Zinc is relatively soft, so it shows scratches and small dents more readily than harder metals. Use a cutting board rather than cutting on the top, and always put hot pans and plates on trivets.

Case by case. The mat itself isn’t the problem; standing water trapped under it is. We’ll help you choose the right setup and tools for how your bar runs, and anywhere water sits constantly, like the drink rail, needs a stainless insert.

Yes, and nothing needs replacing. A Scotch-Brite pad or steel wool lightens and evens out the surface; re-wax after. Your staff or a contractor can do it on site, and we’re glad to walk you through it.

A waterproof core instead of wood. Real metal built up over it, which lets us take on complex curves and compound shapes. Edge profiles cut with tooling we make on our own CNC, so the edge is drawn for your bar. And the same nine finishes in zinc, brass, and copper. Designed and made in Hickory, North Carolina.

A waterproof core, not wood. Wood takes on water, swells, and works loose from the metal over time, and a long plywood top has seams inside it before anyone pours a drink. Our core is one piece with no internal seams, and it doesn’t swell or rot when it gets wet. Why we don’t build on wooden cores →

Yes. Send a section and we’ll draw the profile in CAD, send it back for approval, and cut the tooling on our CNC. We drew a profile for the Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone alone, matched a designer’s existing profile exactly at Black Tap JFK, and followed a bar’s radius ends at Restaurant François. How to spec a bar edge profile →

Yes. Locate every cutout on the plan with dimensions (sinks, ice wells, beer towers, POS stands) and attach the equipment cut sheets. The core under the metal is waterproof, so it won’t swell or rot around an opening the way wood does.

On longer runs, yes. Every long bar has joints somewhere. Our pieces run up to ten feet, the seams between them are tight, and they’re finished on site. Mark anywhere you’d rather not have a seam on the plan and we’ll lay them out with that in mind.

Lighter than you might expect from metal. Pieces are sized so one or two installers can typically set one.

Use the sample request form below. Choose the metal, texture, and patina, or pick “Help me choose” and tell us about the project. Requests are reviewed and samples ship for your project. Have a drawing? Send it and we’ll recommend a metal and finish for how the space will really be used. Rather talk it through? Book a 15-minute call with us.

Send us your drawing. The most useful set: a section through the edge (DXF, DWG, PDF, or a dimensioned sketch), a plan with overall dimensions and radii, finished height and overhang, drink rail make and model, cutout locations with cut sheets, and your metal and finish. We’ll come back with questions, a CAD profile for your approval, and a plan to build it. Timing depends on when the design is signed off and what’s already on our schedule, so we give you a realistic date with the quote.

Usually not. A dimensioned drawing or sketch is a fine start; we work it up in CAD and send it back for your approval. If a project does call for us to template or visit the site, we can, for a fee. Templates made by others are welcome as long as they’re made the right way, in a rigid material rather than flimsy paper, and we’ll walk your templater through exactly what we need.

In standard crates, delivered by liftgate truck, so you don’t need a forklift or a crowd to unload. We build in Hickory, North Carolina, and ship worldwide.

On select projects, yes. Otherwise we coordinate installation with a third party or guide your contractor through it. Tops arrive in standard crates by liftgate truck, and one or two installers can typically set a piece.

Yes, a Limited One-Year Warranty. Patina is a living metal’s natural change, not a defect. Read the full warranty (PDF)