How to Patina Your Steel Edging

What is Patina? 

Patina is an orange, rust-like finish that occurs naturally on a variety of surfaces including stones, wood, and metals. Our corten steel edging, sometimes known as weathering steel, is designed to develop a protective patina finish over time. While this corten steel will have a blue/grey look out of the box, depending on your climate it will typically take between 6 months to a year to reach full patina naturally. 

If you don’t want to wait for nature to run its course, achieving a patina finish is a quick DIY. You can speed up the process using a few simple household supplies!

Gather Your Supplies

• 1 pair of Rubber gloves 

• 1 pair of Protective glasses or goggles

• Rags or paper towels

• 1 Dual-sided sponge

• 2 Spray bottles

• Salt

• Hydrogen Peroxide

• White Vinegar 

Step 1: Safety first! Put your gloves and protective glasses on before starting your project.

Step 2:  Add plain white vinegar to your first spray bottle. Spray your edging with vinegar to pickle the corten steel.

Step 3: Create the vinegar mixture in your second spray bottle. 

• .5 Tbsp salt

• 16 oz Hydrogen Peroxide

• 2 oz White Vinegar 

Step 3: Spray the mixture onto your edging and clips! You should see results almost immediately. Leaving the drips will provide a more natural finish, or you can move on to step 4 

Optional Step 4: Using a sponge or rag, smooth out the patina finish.

Step 5: Let dry.

Step 6: Repeat steps 3-5 until you have your desired finish.

Remember, this process will only work on Corten steel. If you opted for stainless steel clips, these will not Patina.

Check out our How to Install Steel Edging video next.