The finishing process is intended to alter the surface of a part or material to improve its appearance, adhesion, alter its corrosion resistance, get rid of tarnish or wear, and manage friction control. There are some main categories to finishing, but today we are going to look at a timeline of finishing techniques throughout history. Let’s see how much these processes have changed over time.

In the Bronze Age, an unintentional patination could be found on metal objects. This corrosion can modify intentional patinas and make it hard to date the uses of this technique. Metal foil and wire were inlaid to the grooves and wrapped in a decorative manner, crimped onto objects in Egypt and the Middle East. Metal leaf also starts being used in the decoration of statues.

In the Iron Age metal foil and wire were applied to the entirety of objects making it the first complete plating method in ancient Greece.

The early Roman period shows displacement plating, attributing this technique to the Romans. Mercury gilding and silvering can be attributed to the Central Asian people and was seen before the 4th century BCE. Mercury gilding develops further in Europe in the 2nd century  CE. Mercury silvering develops in Europe in the 8th century.

The Medieval Period brings displacement plating and is used to plate copper onto iron armor in 9th century, Europe. This prepares it for mercury gilding. Damascene and false damascene are seen in the Middle East and Europe in the 5th through 15th centuries, being used to create designs based on the earlier inlay traditions.

In the 16th century Renaissance silvering salts as pastes are used to silver the dials on a clock. This is done by displacement plating.

The Industrial Revolution in 1840 brings electroplating. This comes into widespread use and uses an electric current to coat a layer of metal onto the surface of another material. Electroforming also comes into use which is based on electroplating except an object isn’t just coated with metal, but created from layers of metal that form within or around a mold.

The Silicon Age being 1970 to the current day sees companies like IBM using electroplating to produce computer chips and also use damascene techniques in the same production.

While technology and processes always advance, a lot of things are reused or reworked for the modern-day. Many processes still are used today with some variations or improvements. The advances in machinery, tools, and general knowledge are great but sometimes, so are old techniques. There is a good mix of old and new in a lot of metalworking processes we use every day.

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