Painted Metals for Landscape Products

Zintec steel is the cheapest of the three options, and it is best used in relatively protected environments. 

• If the product is scratched through to bare metal, then this must be immediately addressed, or else corrosion of structural significance will commence. Also, aesthetically, the corrosion will be visible.
   
• As a result, Zintec steel is best used in relatively protected locations – such as workplace and residential roof terraces, private gardens, and protected commercial spaces etc.
   
• The use of Zintec steel for more exposed or trafficked areas, such as public realm and streetscapes, is not recommended – unless cost is absolutely the client’s paramount consideration, and where it is accepted by the client that the material’s longevity is likely to be compromised.

1.4003-grade stainless steel is only about 20% more expensive than Zintec steel, and it is the ‘go to’ option for public realm and streetscapes. 

• If the product is scratched through to bare metal, then this does not need to be addressed from a structural integrity standpoint. However, aesthetically, the corrosion will be visible, and this may be sufficient justification for touching-up the damage.
   
• 1.4003 stainless steel may be safely specified for all locations – including exposed or trafficked areas, such as public realm and streetscapes. In such locations, 1.4003-grade stainless steel amply justifies its 20% premium over Zintec steel.

Aluminium is the third most expensive of the four metals [about 30% more than Zintec steel], and its application for landscape products is largely limited to where its lighter weight delivers demonstrable benefits.

• As with 1.4003-grade stainless steel, if an aluminium product is scratched through to bare metal, then this does not need to be addressed from a structural integrity standpoint. Also, aesthetically, the corrosion may well not be highly visible, if the planter is painted a light-to-mid grey colour. 
   
• Aluminium’s performance in exposed locations is, to all intents and purposes, the same as 1.4003-grade stainless steel – but at a higher cost, that is hard to justify. Also aluminium is much less stiff than steel, so it is not a good choice for large products, as is common in public realm. 
   
• Aluminium ‘wins’ where its benefits of corrosion resistance, longevity – and light weight – combine, and justify the cost. Such applications include cladding, frontages and facades; and weight-sensitive terraces, decks etc.

Rarely, some painted landscape products require the underlying metal to be one of the high-grade stainless steels. 

These steels have unparalleled corrosion-resistance and longevity, and 316-grade is aka ‘Marine-grade’ for a reason. However, these steels are extremely expensive [indicatively, twice the price of Zintec steel]; and, when painted, they will look like any other metal. Therefore their use, painted, can only be cost-justified for landscape products where: 

• There are contractual warranties demanding a 25+ year Design Life Performance under any-and-all circumstances. 
   
• The location is marine or unquestionably coastal. For example, IOTA supplied in 2025 planters for the Uig Ferry Terminal on the Isle of Skye, and 316-grade stainless steel was the only credible option. 

High-grade stainless steels are most commonly used in landscape schemes unpainted – left with a raw, natural metal finish – which has a distinctive metropolitan style.