Sheets and plates made from Corten are essentially manufactured like any other sheet metal, that is hot or cold rolled using standard mills. While manufacturing processes are shared with common steel products the chemical composition of corten differs greatly.
A special concentration and distribution of alloying elements within Corten trigger a unique ability to selfheal by rusting. The rust is also cause for a truly unique orange-brown aesthetic which unfolds after about a decade and exposure to the surrounding atmosphere. Hence the label weathering steel.
