Silicon bronze is a copper alloy in which silicon is the primary alloying element. It produces castings of exceptional quality: corrosion-resistant, easily welded, capable of a long-term patina, and with a warm golden colour that no other casting alloy quite matches. For artists, sculptors, and architects working in bronze, it is usually the material of first choice.
At Maybrey Precision Castings, silicon bronze is central to our art foundry work. We have cast it for monumental public sculptures, architectural commissions, and heritage restoration.
Properties of Silicon Bronze
- Corrosion resistance: performs exceptionally well in atmospheric and outdoor conditions without sealing or protective coating
- Weldability: can be welded with low risk of hot cracking, ideal for sculptures cast in segments and then assembled
- Wall thickness tolerance: accommodates variations without significant loss of mechanical integrity
- Patina: develops a rich, stable patina over time; colour can be controlled chemically from gold through green
- Detail retention: casts finely, reproducing surface detail with high fidelity
How Silicon Bronze Casting Works at Maybrey
Silicon bronze is cast using the sand casting process. For work involving complex organic forms or pronounced undercutting, we use 3D printed sand moulds: produced directly from a CAD or scan file, without building a physical pattern. It was central to our Black Renaissance project, where each of the 52 unique sculpture segments required its own mould, and to our production of Mother Vérité, London's first public statue of a postpartum woman.
Post-casting, silicon bronze can be treated with a range of finishes: patination (both natural and chemical), polishing, grinding, and protective wax or lacquer coatings.
Applications
- Monumental and fine art sculpture
- Architectural bronze: door furniture, plaques, decorative panels, and railings
- Heritage restoration: reproducing existing bronze or copper work
- Marine hardware: silicon bronze is highly resistant to saltwater corrosion
Read how we used silicon bronze for the Black Renaissance sculptures
Read how we cast Mother Vérité, London's first postpartum statue