I found this patent which seems to be the same system described by E. C. Matthews. In an article on The Sign Painting Museum site Matthews mentions visiting Vaughn's shop so there IS some connection. http://www.freepatentsonline.com/1646565.pdf TITLED: METHOD OF MAKING SIGNS, Filed June 21, 1926 I f...

Auction ends September 8th
I ordered mine...

Get em while they're there!

Ingrid Mager wrote:Hmmmmm.......if it is indeed contaminated.....

Also, it is possible to use a scribe to hand etch the glass prior to glue-chipping.

~Inga

This hand etching technique sound interesting, Ingrid.

Robert recently told me there wasn't much interest in the fibroseal from the members. He said he IS still going forward with the Fibroseal project anyway.

I was wondering: How much Clear Fibroseal do YOU use in a year?

Thanks Erik and Doug!

But.. What's HF?

Just curious...
Has chipped glass always been prepped by sand blasting? Or, did the old-timers have some other method of roughing up the surface?

My main business is not signs but things have been cut-throat for the last 5 years (Along with the rest of Japan's economy). The situation Danny mentioned was VERY familiar. The big businesses have started offering the the same services as me too, but packaged along with lots of other conveniences a...

Looking good!
Two days is pretty long. More screen ink will shorten that but there is no big rush with us non-professionals.
I like the clothes pin brush hangers too!

It's just I soak myself every night and my hair is falling out so I thought there might be a connection... Doug, Is methyl better than ethyl in this case? I though methyl and wood alcohol were the same. Is that right? Kent, On an old post you mentioned using either denatured alcohol for orange or is...

I hung some new brushed in a jar of ethyl alcohol to remove the shellac a few days ago. when I took them out some of the hairs were kinked up. They were not touching the bottom of the jar so.. maybe they stayed in too long? It was about 6 hours. I usually swish them in lacquer thinner and work them ...

I would especially like to ask Erik and others living outside the US: Have you been able to import hazardous and poisonous materials? And how? It has gotten even harder in the past couple years. I was refused even surface shipping on water based paints because they are poisonous. Maybe it is just Ja...

Hey! Looks pretty darn good for being your first try! Better than my first shot! If you have trouble removing the leaf try dipping your moistened cotton wad in fine powdered chalk or powdered rotten stone and rub it off with that. I have problems finding equivalent chemicals over here in Japan too. ...

My supplier, Enoguya Sankichi, in Kanagawa, Japan has some interesting leaf on pages 3 and 4 of the leafing section: Leafing section top- http://www.sankichi.com/SHOP/241755/list.html page 3- http://www.sankichi.com/SHOP/241755/list3.html page 4- http://www.sankichi.com/SHOP/241755/list4.html There ...

"One of the finest pictorials I ever saw was in Slat Lake City, almost thirty years ago. It was a large Lincoln head in black and gold. The window had been leafed solid and well burnished, then the details and shadows were scratched into the gold with a short fitch brush, and the whole job back...

Robert, Minimum order is 20gallons or 1 quart?? Is 1 quart each of quick rubbing and fibroseal possible? Should we e-mail you at drmwvr@gmail.com about payment, shipping addresses and all that? Erik, Great plan, but it's missing one thing... A deep pocketed, very committed financier! Or is that your...

This is the kind of leaf I see over here in Japan. They do use it for the shrines and religious stuff, Erik. There is a wide variation in quality, of course. I get mine in loose form from an art supplier, Enoguya Sankichi in Kanagawa, and it is usable. They don't usually have books of leaf over here...

Is that osidized leaf or powder? The leaf loses it's shine and goes dark with water gilding. That worked out okay for contrast on what I was doing. It has actually lightened with age/tarnish. Kent Smith had success using Aquasize with blue oxidized leaf. It works ok on surface gilds if you keep in m...

I love the story about the fibroseal. I've been playing with a lacquer clear that I bought over here and was able to paint over it in under an hour. I can imagine when I start doing real work for customers I would want to get things moving along a little quicker. With gilding, stipple, tinting and p...

Robert, You would be doing a good service to lot of people! Thank you ! I would be interested too as it becomes available. For us international folk, shipping is a big concern. I have had several packages lost or stolen by the USPS and we are now unable to ship most liquids by air. That was my main ...

Thanks Robert! That will keep us busy.

I have found a few good things by searching this archive too:

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=

The Pullman School Sign Painter book, How to Paint Signs and Sho Cards, etc...

I appreciate the help with the terms! Mike: Thanks for the good advice, as always! I really have checked it all out. It's a shame nobody continued Mr.Glawson's Esoteric Sign Supply. The mucilage was for show card color, "If color has a tendency to rub off when dry, add a drop of mucilage. If th...

Thanks for that info Mike, but.. maybe I was not specific. Actually, I was hoping to find out what fibroseal is. Thin lacquer, synthetic, some natural oil. My many searches always turn up a Fibroseal asbestos sealing system and Fibroseal tire sealant... is this the same fibroseal used by Matthews? I...

Welcome! In absence of that apprenticeship I thunk I would throw in my two cents, tho I am a beginner too. I would order a couple of Mack 179 or 189 gray squirrel brushes, no. 2 and 4 and maybe a 1/2 inch Mack 1962 and start copying the alphabets from these links onto a piece of glass. That way you ...

Any modern substitutes or ingredient information would be appreciated for these materials from Sign Painting Course and Atkinson Sign Painting. In order of interest: fibroseal quick rubbing varnish mucilage nonparieil japan turpintine dryers china pencil Also, I assume Japan can always be substitute...

It doesn't mean much coming from a novice but, Looks Great to Me! Also, I am sure you have ALREADY made signs that will be treasured in the future. Look at the A.W. Hengeveld sign you recently posted as an example. At the time it was made it was probably not something that would stand out as art. Ho...

Beautiful and effective sign on a cool building! Wouldn't you die for one of those lamps!

I love seeing international pieces!

Keep them coming Erik!

Could you explain how to reclaim chipping glue? Or give us a link?
The shipping costs more than the glue for me...
Thanks!

I would have thought a Vincent or maybe an Ariel Squariel...

BSA man me-self.

The old Brit bikes are almost as cool as your signwriting, Master Dave!

Master Dave,
I have done some spun designs on metal with oak and polishing compound chucked in a drill press. I had assumed punties were done the same way. VERY little pressure and lots of irrigation on the stone, I recon??
What kind of rpm range are you running?
What grit grades?

Thanks,
Novice Dave

Patrick Thanks for those tips. I never would have thought to look in a pet shop!! I've got the book in in my hand now. It says, verbatim: "AN UNUSUAL EFFECT for GOLD LEAF on glass can be obtained by outlining the letters with Japan color (or putting on regular burnish outline) then fill the cen...