Installation, Care & Maintenance
HANDLING
Just like a painting or other form of fine art, our sculptures (although structurally robust looking) are also fine art and should be handled so that none of the finished surfaces make direct contact with fingers or hands during installation or cleaning. Fingerprints, food or other related spots can contain acids and other corrosive chemicals that can etch any metal, acrylic or clear coat. Do not touch, rub or scratch the front of the artwork; if the front of the panel becomes finger printed for any reason please clean immediately using the cleaning instructions listed below.
CLEANING
All exposed metal and acrylic areas should be dusted regularly with a dry clean cotton cloth. If you do accidentally get a mark on the artwork it should be cleaned immediately using a damp cotton cloth with a small amount of hand soap (gently rubbing circles over the affected area) then immediately dried with using a dry cotton cloth. Do not use alcohol-based products, bleaches or abrasive detergents for cleaning any part of your artwork; this may affect the grind patterns or coloring on your sculpture.
INDOOR/OUTDOOR PLACEMENT
All of the artwork may be placed outside, although it is typically best to inform me upon placing your order as we may take some additional measures to protect the finishes from the outdoor elements. Please indicate if artwork will be placed in extreme environmental conditions, so that we can advise when and if special treatments are needed on the artwork.
INSTALLATION
SINGLE-PANEL INSTALLATION
To hang single panel fine metal art first measure the distance between the brackets on the back of the panel, and then make marks using a level where your nails should go. Finally, place the art on the wall, ensuring that each bracket is making contact with a nail.
MULTI-PANEL INSTALLATION
To hang multi panel metal art, start with the middle panel and work your way outwards, measuring the distance between the center of the brackets on two adjoining panels. Often times it is easiest to lay them out on the floor first to determine your ideal spacing between panels.
MATERIALS/HARDWARE NEEDED
- Hammer
- Drywall nails
- Level/laser level
- Drywall screws and drill for heavy or large-scale custom orders
- Picture hanging hooks (like Monkey Hooks) are also a great/easy option, if going in drywall without hitting studs
LIGHTING SUGGESTIONS
When photographing the artwork for the website, we use gallery lighting (quartz halogen track lighting) to best portray the grind patterns and colors in the optimal real-life setting. To create the most stunning visual effects, reflection of light and brightest color saturation, We suggest that you place your sculpture near a bright light source to achieve the same effect. If you do not have quartz halogen track lighting readily available you can use quartz halogen bulbs or other flood light type bulbs which can be found at most home improvement/hardware stores.
NATURAL SUNLIGHT – JUST A THOUGHT
Placing natural aluminum fine metal art sculptures near a window where it will get sunlight throughout the day will create a dynamic sculpture that will reflect the natural colors of the sun as it progresses through sunrise or sunset.