A Guide to Help You Choose Your Metal Color
The color wheel is a great tool to help you find the perfect color scheme for your project. Colors are separated by their hues. With cooler colors like blues and greens on one side and with warmer colors like reds and oranges on the other. Many people choose to stay on one side of the wheel to create cohesive palettes, while others look for contrasting schemes by pulling colors from opposite sides.
Adobe has an excellent color wheel to help you find analogues, complimentary, triad and other color harmonies to help you get inspired for your project.
Click here to try out the Adobe Color Wheel
Choosing a color palette for your project is going to involve quite a few different options. The easiest way to get started in choosing your palette is to examine the property and surrounding area. What types of colors seem to fit best within the community? What types of colors will work best with the landscaping on the property itself?
Once you have a general idea of which color families to use, you can then start narrowing down specific color palettes using color harmonies from a color wheel, examining the latest color trends related to regions and choosing a balance between neutral and bright colors, depending on your personal taste.
Ultimately finding your color palette is about choosing the colors that best fit your landscape, your personality and your lifestyle.
Sometimes small details are overlooked, and we see those areas as opportunities to make a statement within a design. Using a different color for trim is a great way to add a little something different to a design. You can either use a contrasting color for a unique combination or stick to the same color palette with different hues.
Helpful Tip: If you choose to stay in the same color family, we recommend using darker colors at the base of a wall to draw the eye up.
Different times of the day or even times of the year can play a huge part in the appearance of your metal’s color. When choosing a color palette, you will want to think about how the color will be affected in different lights. Natural light can cause colors to look lighter in direct sunlight, while darker when the sun is casting shadows or when the sun is setting.
Helpful Tip: In interior spaces, you will want to consider how much glare you might see from reflections in both natural and artificial lights.
We’ve all been there, when we receive our product and it's not even close to what the picture online or in the magazine looked like. We don’t want it happening to you, especially with a major decision like the design of your home or office.
Don’t be afraid to order multiple metal color samples to test in your environment. Make sure to move around to test different lights at different times of the day to ensure there are no surprises.
Shop our color and panel samples here!
One last thing to remember is how important the finish of your metal is. From glossy to matte and textured to smooth you will want to look at all the options to find the best finish to complement your space whether it’s inside or out.
Matte – With a matte finish, you are getting a surface with little to no shine. This finish is popular for its natural, unfinished appearance.
Gloss – This finish is just like you would expect, a shiny, smooth surface. One thing to consider is the reflective properties of this finish when used on interior or exterior spaces.
Textured – This is unique with a little sheen, but not your typical smooth surface. Adding a textured finish can create visual interest when combined with smooth surfaces or with other building materials.
PVDF systems provide exceptional weather protection, and are designed to handle exposure to harsh weather conditions. This commercial-grade paint system maintains its appearance over long periods when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) and atmospheric pollutants.
SMP (Silicon Modified Polyester) paint systems are among the hardest paint systems on the market, making it extremely resistant to abrasions and able to be used in a wide range of metal forming without cracking.
Often more economically priced than a PVDF paint system, it is a popular option for residential, industrial and agricultural uses.
Bridger Steel offers a range of Galvanized and Zincalume® substrates in our stocked inventory. Most of our standard finishes can be custom ordered (minimums apply) based on site-specific requirements in Galvanized, Zincalume ®, and Aluminum options. Please allow for longer lead times on custom orders.
For information on Zinc or Copper finishes, please contact your local Bridger Steel product specialist
Bridger Steel's standard painted galvanized products use TruZinc in 22-29ga. steel to help provide optimal performance for our products.
TruZinc® Steel, a galvanized steel sheet manufactured by Steelscape, provides a metallic coating of zinc over a steel base. The result is a versatile building product with exceptional corrosion resistance. Our unique zinc coating, coupled with industry-leading technique and equipment, creates a beautiful surface finish of superior quality.
TruZinc is designed for a wide variety of uses, including everything from HVAC ducting to lightweight framing and decking. TruZinc is also perfect for electrical cabinets, roof panels, wall panels, entry doors as well as rainwater good applications. TruZinc is recommended for application in animal confinement buildings or in buildings where the steel comes in contact with soil, cement or concrete.
TruZinc® Grade Data Sheet (supplied by mill)
Setting a new industry benchmark, next generation ZINCALUME® steel meets the growing demands of a changing built environment for durability, resilience and sustainability; giving you the confidence to create for years to come.
Next generation ZINCALUME® steel’s patented Activate® technology introduces magnesium into the aluminium-zinc alloy coating, improving galvanic protection by activating the aluminium. The result is a tougher protective coating that's more resistant to scratches and scuffs encountered during construction.
The protective coating innovation also increases the product lifespan of next generation ZINCALUME® steel whilst using fewer metal resources.
ZINCALUME® Sample Warranty (supplied by mill)
ZINCALUME® Grade Data Sheet (supplied by mill)
ZINCALUME® Safety Data Sheet (supplied by mill)
ZINCALUME® Technical Bulletins (supplied by mill)
Bridger Steel uses a proprietary variation of traditional weathering steel called A606 Truten®. Designed specifically for light gauge engineered panel systems, A606 Truten® is a naturally weathering product and can be used in roofing and facade applications.
Weathering steel, often referred to by the trademark Corten steel, is a group of steel alloys originally created to eliminate the need for painting structures like bridges or heavy steel structures exposed to the outside environment. As technology improved, use in residential and commercial projects drove interest in the light gauge market.
The original Corten received the standard designation A606 for thin sheet. All alloys are in common production and use.
The surface oxidation of weathering steel varies greatly based on environmental influences, but surface treatments can accelerate the oxidation to as little as two hours.
Vintage coated metal is an innovative pre-painted metal product which offers a warm, classic aged appearance. Steelscape’s proprietary coating ‘pre-ages’ the TruZinc® metallic coated steel surface producing a beautiful and durable finish. Moreover, Vintage coated metal is also graffiti resistant.
Bridger Steel's Bonderized is a galvanized steel that is processed through a phosphate bath, which then has a layer of Chromate applied and dried to the coating. The process produces a matte grey finish. This finish provides an excellent surface for applying primer, making Bonderized an excellent option for applying custom or branded paint colors post-installation. Paint should be applied immediately after installation to prevent the phosphate coating from developing white rust.
Bridger Steel offers a wide range of Aluminum finishes, including most of our 24 gauge color options (minimum quantities apply). Aluminum painted coils are ordered based on site-specific finish & performance requirements. Please allow for longer lead times.
Perforated flat sheet, coil, and engineered panel information is available upon request.
Speak to a team member about applicable panel systems and finishes.
Custom fabrications of Flat Wall and additional variations are available.
Additional documentation related to colors & finishes by Bridger Steel.
