Copper Patina and Zinc

In your copper patina tutorial, it looks like you put a zinc frame on the top of the piece before applying the patina. What does the copper patina do to the zinc? In the photo it looks like it got darker. I was going to put a zinc frame on a piece, and the only way I can think of to make it look copper would be to paint it (spraypaint or something). I've never used the copper patina before, so I was also struggling with when to put the frame on. It would be good to have it before washing to provide structural support, but I don't want to potentially discolor the zinc with chemicals.

Answer

In my tutorial, you are looking at the aluminum strips used to make the jig to build my window in, not a zinc frame. The only place you saw a zinc frame was in Other Ways to Finish the Edges. It was around a contemporary flower panel. The panel was patinaed with copper patina. Then the zinc was painted with Rustoleum paint.

You can attach your zinc frame before you wash and patina the project. Any copper patina that gets on the zinc can easily be wiped off. It will turn the zinc black, but it will wipe off easily if you wipe it right away...don't let it sit on the zinc for any period of time.

Some people leave the zinc it's natural color, feeling that the contrast between the copper and silver colors is nice.