Colour - these signs are designed to rust from an initial light rust colour that we start for you (as shown in the images on the listing). Once you have positioned your sign outside, the rust reaction will continue and the Corten sign will rust further. The colour and the patina will change and reach a rich dark umber colour (this takes 6 to 12 months depending on local weather conditions). This is the nature of this steel. Indeed the below text (in blue) is taken directly from a website of one of the manufacturers of the Corten steel.
At first, the steel begins to rust in the same fashion as any other carbon steel, when exposed to wet and dry weather conditions. However, as time passes, the rust layer transforms into a dense patina layer, sealing-off the steel surface, resisting further corrosion. The color changes from fresh, newly developed orange-brown, to light and eventually dark brown. The speed of change and the final color of the steel depend on the atmospheric conditions of a site and the surrounding air quality. Sulfur dense atmospheres will speed up the oxidation process and result in a darker patina. Frequent cycles of wet and dry weather conditions will also speed up oxidation.
The signs are despatched when this initial rust layer has been started. The rust needs to fully build before sealing and as you can appreciate, we cannot hold signs here until that stage has been reached.
There are sealers out there in the market that offer this should you wish to look into this. Please see the links attached.
Please note that the sealer will darken the sign (almost like a varnish) so bear this in mind when gauging your required colour.
Small Text and Images - Corten is tricky to cut as the laser needs to pierce the steel initially resulting in a bigger burst cut (pierce hole). This initial pierce is usually placed within the cut of a letter or number (called a lead in). If the letters are too small or too thin then you cannot make a successful lead in, which results in a small arc outside the cut letter. For this reason we have to limit the amount of characters on smaller signs.