Dirty Penny is a Zahner-developed copper surface featuring a stunning array of colors, from reddish-browns and oranges to deep purples and iridescent hues. This premium patina offers architects and designers a distinctive, mottled finish that evolves over time, forming a protective layer that enhances durability. Whether sealed for lasting interior luster or exposed to ambient interior moisture for gradual transformation, Dirty Penny’s versatility makes it an ideal choice for walls, ceilings, and other architectural accents.
Crafted with sustainability in mind, Dirty Penny is produced in Zahner’s EPA-certified facility using environmentally responsible methods. The material’s living patina, which naturally resists corrosion, grows stronger with time, ensuring durability in interior and exterior applications. Highly malleable, Dirty Penny can be perforated, embossed, or shaped to meet creative design needs, offering a beautiful, functional surface that aligns with design goals of environmental stewardship and architectural excellence.
Dirty Penny Copper Manufacturing, Properties, and Applications
Dirty Penny copper is a premium material developed by Zahner to provide artists and architects with a stunning architectural surface unlike any other. The preweathered copper features light and dark tones ranging from blues to greens and reds.
Close-up of Dirty Penny Copper sheet material.
Photo © A. Zahner Company
An iridescent surface, the material benefits from a microfilm which develops on the exterior layer of the material. The oxidized layer is like a living protection barrier, which grows and evolves as it further oxidizes.
Additionally, due to copper’s malleability, Dirty Penny can be easily perforated, bumped, and embossed.
Dirty Penny Changes Over Time
Patinated metals are distinct in their transformative nature. While immutable materials like stainless steel or passivated aluminum may stand up to weather without change, transformative metal systems are designed to change.
Dirty Penny is a patina on copper, a transformative material. If exposed to exterior elements, the material will continue to weather, darkening over time. Within twenty years, it will begin to turn green. This transformation provides the material with a protective coating. This natural process of weathering and longevity is part of what makes the material so desirable. While all patinated copper holds up well outside, Dirty Penny does so incredibly well.
Dirty Penny is also an excellent choice for interior surfaces such as ceilings and wall panels. When sealed and maintained, it is possible for a custom copper patina like Dirty Penny to maintain its iridescent luster. As an interior surface, the Dirty Penny copper’s unique finish can last indefinitely, especially if the material is sealed.
A Sustainable Material
As part of Zahner’s sustainability mission, each of the patinated metal products produced by Zahner are developed in the company’s EPA certified facility in Grand Prairie, Texas. The award-winning facility follows environmental practices in producing sustainable copper, zinc, and steel surfaces with custom patination, ensuring that the community water supply isn’t damaged by the use of improper waste disposal.
