How can you tell bronze from spelter?

How can you tell bronze from spelter?

How to identify spelter. Relative to bronze, spelter is much softer. Spelter is also brittle and thinly cast, therefore ornaments made from spelter are fragile and can be easily damaged without care. If the object has any cracks visible, it’s likely to be spelter rather than bronze.

Is spelter lighter than bronze?

First of all zinc and spelter are lighter and more fragile than bronze, and consequently they can have easily visible cracks. In this case, it is very simple to distinguish the color of the original metal, without patina, which, in the case of the spelter, will be white and gray while the bronze would have been yellow.

What does spelter look like?

Spelter is a zinc–lead alloy that ages to resemble bronze, but is softer and has a lower melting point. The name can also refer to a copper–zinc alloy (a brass) used for brazing, or to pure zinc.

What kind of metal is spelter?

zinc
spelter, zinc in the form of slabs cast from the liquid obtained in the process of reducing the ores. Spelter is the most common commercial form of zinc metal.

How do you clean spelter figurines?

A sound surface can be cleaned with a soft bristled brush or cotton wool moistened in water with a few drops of non-ionic detergent added. Rinse immediately and dry well. Microcrystalline wax helps to prevent further deterioration: apply one or two coats (leaving an hour between each) and buff gently with a soft cloth.

What are spelter figures?

Early twentieth-century Art Nouveau and Art Deco figures and lamps were often made of spelter. The metal has been used since about the 1860s to make statues, tablewares, and lamps that resemble bronze. Spelter is soft and breaks easily.

Can you polish spelter?

The dark or greenish brown patina that forms on bronze is highly desirable and should be preserved; so don’t use metal polish or solvents on any bronze or any water on indoor bronzes. Dusting alone should suffice. A dull patina can be revived by a very light coating of microcrystalline wax.

Do bronze sculptures increase in value?

Because bronze sculptures are handcrafted, they have a natural scarcity that increases their value.

How do you clean spelter figures?

What color is spelter?

Spelter is mainly composed of zinc, a silvery white metal. After the object was cast, the surface was either plated with copper, which was then patinated to a dark bronze colour, or simply covered with a coloured wax or lacquer.