Since the first days of the launch of TrackDesign, we had often  faced the misinformation about the peculiarities that concern the Corten steel, understood as the distinctive material of all our processes.

We often do not associate the name of Corten with that fascinating and multifaced material where we've been encountered during our lives, perhaps during a trip to Northern Europe, Sweden or Denmark.

It is even more confused with what couldn’t be more different from this splendid steel, namely thermoplastic materials or simple iron as well. We often face companies, which promoting their own interests, and present materials that deviate from the original characteristics of Corten.

Through this article we will help you, finally, to distinguish Corten steel from imitations, to help you to choose the right material according to your needs and avoiding waste of money and many disappointments.

Copyrights Photo TrackDesign Srl 

1)      Polypropylene

One of the main characteristics of Corten is its materiality.  Sight irregularity and touch of this material are unique and many times inimitable.If from the visual point of view, through very elaborate paints, the effect can be almost totally imitated, there is nothing that can reproduce the tactile feeling.

Polypropylene has exactly this limit. Lighter than Corten, it is certainly more practical in some circumstances. However, it has a fundamental problem, it is not real Corten. Well, to tell the truth, it's not even steel.

Polypropylene is a thermoplastic material and therefore very smooth and frequently used for restaurants and B&Bs.

Since the main use of this material is in outdoor applications, it is immediately clear that "the Corten effect" won’t have the same resistance in time as the original one; it is also certain that the surface will lose, in the short time, brightness and reflections which are typical elements of Corten. Even from the first application, you can see a lighter color than the "Corten effect" painted iron, which will fade more and more until you leave the surface stained with color!

We wonder if those owners knew what they were about to buy and after all, how much they were paying for it. Let's debunk the myth, Corten wouldn’t have been more expensive.

In the photo, an example of polypropylene "corten effect" sign.

     Forex is also an expanded thermoplastic material, of the PVC type. Due to its characteristics it is also used in the advertising field.

The "corten effect" forex is not simple painted forex, but a material covered with a thin layer of painted metal with Corten effect. At a first glance there are no differences between the original and the painted one but, over time and with the use outside, the coating will lose shine, will lose its concreteness and will crumble like a simple ferrous foil left to the elements.

3) Painted iron 

During one of our exhibitions in London, we found ourselves discussing with Johanna, a nice and lovely designerwho already had experiences with this material in the past. Johanna, through her quick and strongly English Cockney, tried to make us understand how puerile her experience had been with what she called "Corten".

Her client, after repeated failures and returned to Italian companies, had lost hope, prompting the customer to change architect. You read correctly, Johanna had fallen in love with the material through the streets of London, but unfortunately, she’d met the wrong companies, losing the customer. It would not have happened if she’d met TrackDesign before.

Our friend Johanna trusted those companies because of their so called “made in Italy” and she had never thought  that she had to deal with a material which wasn’t Corten at all, but corroded iron. From the pictures we immediately understood, the handrail of her ladder had been completely compromised by a deep corrosion.

Basic chemistry lesson,Corten never corrodes, but oxidizes. Corrosion is the internal degradation of the material, namely the crystal lattice, which is irreparably damaged. The phenomenon is shown as what we also call rust.

Rust iron - Oxidation process of table LILA made by TrackDesign. 

Oxidation, on the other hand, is a process that remains superficial and occurs in materials such as Corten, which is a steel alloys whichdo not corrode thanks to the allotting elements within it, namely Chrome, Copper, Vanadium, Manganese.

For your safety, in the construction of important structures, such as mezzanines or stairs, we recommend you relying on serious professionals, such as TrackDesign, or ask for certifications of authenticity of the material!