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Fine Art Is Finished: The first step in finishing the plates is a thorough washing on both sides with an acid. The polishing is accomplished by a series of rapidly revolving grinders to which are fed powdered emery and fine art is finished sand—set at right angles to the moving plate. When the top side is finished, the plates are automatically turned over and the other side is finished. The plates then receive a second inspection and washing. If no flaws are found, they are marked for final size and go to an automatic cutting machine. The finished plates then receive a final washing and inspection, and if perfect are sent to storage or packing rooms. This method, developed by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. in 1921-1922, is known as the continuous process. In 1954 the Libbey-Owens Glass Company announced perfection of a process by which both sides of the plate were cleaned and polished at the same time.
Bronze can be cast with great ease and in the most delicate patterns, and may be finished in a great variety of styles and colors. For these reasons it is more largely used in the manufacture of metal ornaments, statues, and finished hardware than any other material. The surface finishes are obtained by dipping the object in baths of various acids, but these finishes are only light veneers, and disappear if the object is exposed to the weather or frequently handled.
Both brass and bronze may be rolled into very thin sheets, after which spun, hammered, or repousse forms and surfaces may be produced.
Objects that are cast in bronze and treated with ornament in relief may have the ornament sharpened or undercut by hand chiselling or chasing. The ormolu used on French 17th and 18th century furniture was finished in this way, the bronze finally being coated with gold by a mercury process that was very dangerous to the workmen. The ornament on fine art is finished bronze hardware is always hand-chiselled, which is responsible for its high cost. The finish of hardware that has not been touched by handwork is called "commercial."
In Italy, during the Renaissance, were also produced those extraor-dinary miniature reproductions of classical statuary that were used as household ornaments. These statuettes were made by the cire-perdue or "lost-wax" process, so named because the original wax model of the figure was lost in making the bronze casting. Very intricate models were made in wax, delicately tooled, and then covered with a layer of fine art is finished clay which was left to harden. When dry, the clay was heated and the melted wax permitted to run out through a small hole, leaving a beautifully finished mould in which to pour the liquid bronze. When the bronze cooled, the clay mould had to be broken and removed, leaving the finished product, but only after both the model and the mould had been destroyed so that it was impossible to produce another casting without having the sculptor make another model. |
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