Period Outdoor Lighting - Nickel
Period Nickel Outdoor Light - Vintage Nickel Outdoor Lights
If you own a period property, whether it is an Edwardian mansion house, or a Victorian terrace, then most lighting available today will not be suitable. Here you will find a complete range of nickel-plated vintage outdoor lamps to complement your period property. Poor copies of original designs that are designed to look old by the application of some coating or other can look contrived and cast doubt on the authenticity of the building. The fittings found here are faithful representations of the originals, designed and crafted in exactly the same manner.
Exterior lighting has been around for a long time. Originally it was in the form of candles inside a simple box lantern, subsequently moving on to oil burning lamps, gas and finally electricity. As time passed, outdoor lanterns became more and more decorative, performing an aesthetic function in addition to the practicality of lighting the surrounding area. Some designs were huge with a height of six feet and a diameter of three feet or more in some cases. They were almost always hand made using cast brass or bronze, sheet brass or sheet copper. The Victorians in particular embraced the nickel-plated finish, as it so closely resembles that of silver for a fraction of the cost.
The period outdoor lights you find here are made in England by time served craftsmen and women of either cast or sheet brass and copper. They are then riveted and soldered by hand and finished in tough nickel plating. Any glass used is handmade to maintain the fittings authenticity.
Nickel plating is a simple process but must be done correctly for the finish to give a lifetimes protection. Once your period lantern has been crafted, it must be completely clean and free of any grease or imperfections. This is achieved by degreasing and cleaning followed by heat-treating the fitting.
Once your vintage light is scrupulously clean it is then placed into an electrically charged tank containing a conductive acidic fluid. Nickel is then added to the solution, which is attracted to and bonds with the surface of the electrically charged light fitting. This results in a very tough outer nickel coating that is then highly polished. All of our nickel-plated outdoor lights have at least twice as much nickel as the minimum requirement British Standard.
Finally, your period light is lacquered, if appropriate. We only recommend lacquered finishes for indoor use. Lacquer does not react well to prolonged exposure to sunlight and will begin to peel in quite a short amount of time. The only option available is to then remove the lacquer and have it reapplied. We recommend that your nickel-plated is left un-lacquered for outdoor use. It will dull slightly over time and can be left to age gracefully or can be polished back to a mirror shine using a good quality proprietary metal polish.
If you have any special requirements or you have any questions about our period outdoor lighting range, please use the contact us form or telephone 0151 650 2138 for friendly knowledgeable advice. Alternatively you can share your question with others by posting it in our customer interactive area.
© 2011: Sye Yehya. Universal Lighting Services Ltd: Tel 0151-650-2138 All rights reserved.