THE MATERIALS
A. The basic materials most commonly used in the manufacture of our products:
Brass: a golden-brown metallic alloy of copper and tin with the addition of zinc. Compared with pure copper, it is much harder, has a lower melting point, and is more suitable for casting. This metal alloy is very durable in outdoor settings.
Copper: a metallic alloy of pure copper (specific gravity 8.9) and a relatively small amount of zinc (approximately 10–15%) with a reddish colour. Very malleable and weaker than brass. Also an excellent metal for outdoor use.
Aluminium: the most common metallic element in the earth’s crust, with a muted silvery colour and very light weight (specific gravity 2.7). Aluminium can only be used outdoors with an anodized finish. Painted aluminum can also be used outdoors with proper pre-treatment. Untreated aluminium oxidizes when it is exposed to air or an outdoor environment.
B. Surface finish of the basic materials
• Polished brass shining gold colour
• Dark bronze dark black/brown coloured brass
• Polished chrome plated brass polished shining metallic white
• Brushed nickel plated brass silver grey, non-glossy, by brush stripes
• Brushed chrome plated brass dull, by brush stripes
• Copper shiny or dull red copper
• Sateen brass dull gold colour
• Polished nickel plated brass polished silver grey
• Light bronze light patinated vintage look
• Pearl nickel plated brass silver grey (equal), smooth surface
• Pearl chrome plated brass with smooth surface, grey
• ‘Black Mirror’ plated brass polished black / chrome metallic
• Gunmetal grey plated brass typical colour of a gun barrel
• Patinated copper plated brass coppered with dark patine
• Pearl gold plated brass bronze with a thin layer of gold (equal) (18K)
C. Interpretation of the materials, with or without surface finish
We warn you against outdoor use of lights in basic (untreated) materials – such as gunmetal or copper, brass, iron or steel. All these materials oxidize like iron: rust, other materials such as gunmetal or copper, brass, zinc etc. change in color. We recommend not to use lamps with a surface finish as mentioned on article B and indicated with * outdoors, as these finishes demand a lot of maintenance or are not suitable to be used outside. Oxidation is often very decorative, therefore we offer a lot of our lights in an oxidized finish such as dark bronze, although that colour can differ from the one in the catalogue or even from a light shown in a showroom or already used outdoors for some time. We can not accept any complaint about these differences because these are due to the character of the material or a typical finish chosen or application of the fitting.
D. Glass
We also present most of our wall fixtures (including Quay light, Butterfly) with clear glass, frosted glass, or opal-effect glass (glass painted white on the inside), and in some cases with true opal glass or in exceptional cases with Plexiglas. Clear glass is transparent. Frosted glass is obtained by sandblasting clear glass, among other methods. Sandblasting involves spraying the glass with very fine sand under high pressure. Opal-effect glass (Quay light) is used as a replacement for opal glass in applications requiring greater durability. It is made by the time-honoured method of painting the inside of the glass white, and it has a warmer glow than opal glass. Opal glass: a cloudy white, translucent but non-transparent type of glass obtained by melting glass with bone ash, creolized or the like. Opaline glass is mostly used in the form of a sandwich laminate with clear glass.
