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Heritage Line is the premier supplier of etched metal products, both for architectural signage as well as for personal use............ Etched metal plaques are made by acid-etching graphic images into sheets of brass, muntzmetal (Yellow Brass) or stainless steel, as well as aluminum, magnesium, bronze and copper, reproduced by exposing a piece of film onto a photosensitive metal plate............. Panels can accommodate hundreds of crisp, legible names............ The etching process permits exact reproduction of most artwork, including halftones...........

 

General Finishes

   NOTE: Some find this page directly using certain search terms. Click "Up" in Navigation á to land on our main Etched Plaques Page.

   The standard finish on an etched plaque is a satin belt on the raised areas and a painted recessed background. We offer gloss and semi-gloss for interior usage. Exterior application is polyurethane based semi-gloss and exterior semi-gloss. All materials can be used for exterior application except for magnesium (which is soft and breaks down outside). Stainless steel doesn't need lacquer.

  Raised Areas - Brass Alloys

Satin Finish
The standard finish on the raised areas of etched plaques is a horizontal satin grain conforming to NAAMM finish designation M31-C11-R10.

Polished Finish
A polished finish on etched plaques conforming to NAAMM finish designation M21-C11-R10 is available as an option on the raised areas of brass alloy plaques providing the plaques have recessed graphics. This option is not available on etched plaques with raised graphics. Polished finishes are not available on 1/16" thick etched plaques.

Raised Areas - Stainless Steel & Aluminum

Satin & Polished Finish
These materials are available in both polished (not shown; see Etched Sample Finishes Page) as well as a satin horizontal grain conforming to NAAMM finish designation No.4.

Recessed Areas - All Materials

The recessed areas of all Heritage Line etched plaques may be painted with any standard background color as shown on our Etched Plaques Colors Page. In addition, any color may be specified for a custom color match.

Multiple Colors
Multiple colors may be specified for use on etched plaques, however, a raised area must separate each color.

Texture Paint
 Texture paint is available in brown or black for recessed background areas on deep etched zinc or magnesium plaques.

Oxidized

A chemical finish on brass alloys produced by various aqueous sulfide solutions. Color can vary from a rich golden hue to almost black. Specify Light Medium or Dark Oxidized. Meets NAAMM finish designation M30-C55-060.

NOTE: Zinc is a relatively new offered material for etched plaques. It's considerably cheaper than Bronze Brass Copper Stainless Steel and Aluminum. It and Magnesium offer the following options:

Bronzetone

As an alternative to commercial bronze, the raised areas of etched zinc or magnesium are colored to a light bronze color after the plaque is painted and satin finished.

Brasstone

As an alternative to yellow brass, the raised areas of etched zinc or magnesium are colored to a light brass color after the plaque is painted and satin finished.

NOTES: The Bronzetone and Brasstone coloring on Zinc or Magnesium is intended to simulate real brass or bronze. Most of the applications look just like a cast bronze plaque or cast brass plaque with the raised lettering and dark, recessed background. In instances where there is very little wall space and lots of text, you may want to consider an etching with small copy and make it appear as a real cast bronze plaque. Because magnesium is so lightweight, you may specify an etched magnesium Bronzetone plaque instead of the equivalent heavy cast bronze plaque.

Clear Coatings

Protective clear coatings are used on all metals except for stainless steel and Alloy 2024 polished aluminum. Interior or exterior installation should also be specified. Coatings for exterior installation are polyurethane-based, available in glossy or semi-gloss. If no clear coating is specified, the standard is glossy for interior installation. Standard clear coating for ADA signage is semi-gloss.