Weathering steel, often referred to by the genericised trademark COR-TEN steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as corten steel, is a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable rust-like appearance after several years' exposure to weather.
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Surface oxidation of weathering steel takes six months, but surface treatments can accelerate the oxidation to as little as one hour.
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In other words, the Weathering steel is allowed to rust in order to form the protective coating.
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The Type 2 Weathering steel, which is called Corten B, is used primarily in urban furnishing, passenger ships or cranes.
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Weathering steel is popularly used in outdoor sculptures for its distressed antique appearance.
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Weathering steel was used in 1971 for the Highliner electric cars built by the St Louis Car Company for Illinois Central Railroad.
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The use of weathering steel was seen as a cost-cutting move in comparison with the contemporary railcar standard of stainless steel.
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The durability of weathering steel did not live up to expectations, with rust holes appearing in the railcars.
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Weathering steel is not rust-proof in itself: if water is allowed to accumulate on the surface of the steel, it will experience a higher corrosion rate, so provision for drainage must be made.
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Rainwater runoff from the slowly rusting Weathering steel stained the numerous large windows and increased maintenance costs.
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