Both the copper and brass used to create our weather vanes will usually patina to lovely and distinct shades of green. The rate at which they turn color depends on where you live. If you are right by the ocean, you should start to see green color within a year or two. If you are in an arid location like the desert, it may take ten or more years to change color.

Phoenix Weather Vane new, gold leafing per customer request

These two photos showing the patina process on Copper, Brass and Gold Leaf. As you can see, while brass and gold leaf look very similar when a weathervane has just been completed, brass (which has a lot of copper in it) patinas very similarly to copper, although you can see a small variation. If a customer wants a more distinctive contrast between the metals, we recommend using the gold leaf. If a customer wants a more subtle variation, we recommend using brass as the accent metal.   Please click on the thumbnails for larger images

Phoenix Weather Vane aged, from owner's personal collection.

The patina is unique to each weather vane. If you live by the ocean, you will often get a "speckled" patina which is caused by the sea salt in the atmosphere. If you live in an area with lots of rainfall, over time, your weather vane will develop a "weeping" patina. Each vane will develop an individual appearance based on its location and the environmental factors present. The patina is what makes your vane distinct from any other.

Examples of patina variations

We personally like the effect created by adding a little gold leaf to weather vanes destined for outdoor use. Below are some photos of weather vanes displayed here on our property.  In the photos, the vanes have turned a rich, chocolate brown color. The gold leaf adds a striking contrast to the weathered copper. 

Examples of weathered copper with contrasting gold leaf

Gold leaf is also very effective at helping a weather vane stand out against a visually competitive environment. Both the Hunting Bald Eagle and Moon Goddess pictured above would blend into the tree filled background without the gold to help distinguish it against this greenish brown back drop. Adding a little gold leaf to your weather vane is usually a less expensive alternative to going to a larger sized vane to help it stand out against a busy visual environment.

If you like the effect of shiny copper and prefer not to go with gold leaf, the only real way to maintain it is to keep your weather vane indoors. Lacquers or varnishes applied to the surface will work for a couple years but after several years exposure to rain, snow, wind, etc. the finish will start to break down and then parts of the weather vane will start to patina while other parts will not. You might be surprised at how many of our customers simply intend to use their weather vanes indoors as an example of American Folk art.