Welcome to The Hand Lettering Forum!
This is an interactive Bulletin Board on the topics of Sign making, design, fabrication, History, old Books and of coarse Letterheads, Keepers of the craft. The Hand Lettering Forum features links to resources, sign art history, techniques, and artists profiles. Learn more about Letterheads at https://theletterheads.com. Below you'll see Mchat has been added as a live communication portal for trial, and the Main forum Links are listed below.

New in Signs and questioning !

Hand Lettering topics: Sign Making, Design, Fabrication, Letterheads, Sign Books.

Moderators: Ron Percell, Mike Jackson, Danny Baronian

Post Reply
Olivier Gaudry
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Jun 19, 2013 9:47 am
Location: France - Toulouse
Contact:

New in Signs and questioning !

Post by Olivier Gaudry »

Hello there !

I'm brand new in sign painting which i recently discovered, i am currently a french graphic designer for 15 years, practicing graffiti, and mainly a typography's lover. To let you know, sign painting has simply disappeared here since decades ^^ After taking infos from some of you (probably) i'm training since one month on various supports (especially on wood panels and on glass). I'm facing a small problem concerning mixing colors. I found 1Shot Lettering Enamels, but no way to find Tinting Black or White in France. I was wandering if i could use the white's Lettering Enamel to mix with others colors ? If someone could take time to respond me would be great.
Thanks.

Olivier.
Mike Jackson
Site Admin
Posts: 1705
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 11:02 pm
Location: Jackson Hole, WY
Contact:

Re: New in Signs and questioning !

Post by Mike Jackson »

Olivier,
You'd be fine just using regular black and white for tinting and shading. I am not sure I ever owned a can of either of the Tinting Whites or Shading Blacks.
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
Olivier Gaudry
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Jun 19, 2013 9:47 am
Location: France - Toulouse
Contact:

Re: New in Signs and questioning !

Post by Olivier Gaudry »

Mike.
It sounds good !
Thanks !
O.
Dan Seese
Posts: 324
Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2004 11:29 pm
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Contact:

Re: New in Signs and questioning !

Post by Dan Seese »

I agree with Mike - you can intermix any of the 1Shot paints.
I've used both the shading black & the tinting white at times but not often. I think the purpose of those products is to darken or lighten a color without altering the actual color. Or they can be added to clear to do things like create a shadow over a background color or a highlight over a background color.
Experiment with small amounts of color to see what you come up with.
Dan
"The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne."
Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340 - 1400)

http://DanSeeseStudios.com
http://www.DanSeeseStudios.com/blog/
http://www.facebook.com/DanSeeseStudios
Mike Jackson
Site Admin
Posts: 1705
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 11:02 pm
Location: Jackson Hole, WY
Contact:

Re: New in Signs and questioning !

Post by Mike Jackson »

Kent Smith might have more details on this subject when he signs on.

You can also read the products specs and features on the One Shot site. There are times when us consumers question whether there is really much of a difference in the products or whether they are just marketing tools for selling more products and fill more shelves. Inventing a solution to a problem that doesn't exists? Just questioning it...

It seems like I remember some comments suggesting the pigments are more pure black than the lettering enamel black which might have a touch of blue for more rich color. This might be more important when mixing the shading black with clear varnish for split shades. For that technique, some people use artist oil colors.

For day to day sign painting on regular sign surfaces, I'd still say just use regular black and white and save your money and shelf space.
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
Olivier Gaudry
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Jun 19, 2013 9:47 am
Location: France - Toulouse
Contact:

Re: New in Signs and questioning !

Post by Olivier Gaudry »

I'll follow your advices. I already read the faq and notes from 1Shot website. Obviously they recommends to use their dedicated products (Tinting Black & White) to (inter)mix colors ... pure commercial approach. That's why i asked you :)

I have one more question on brush's maintenance, what kind of oil do you use ? I guess every Sign Painter has his preferences. For now i use Mack's preservative oil which is expensive.

Thank you both !
Tyler Tim
Posts: 209
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 12:12 am

Re: New in Signs and questioning !

Post by Tyler Tim »

I've use Type F transmission fluid for the past 28 yrs. Clean brush in Mineral Spirits drip in ATF pallet on flat glass to work out heel. Re wash in Spirits... dip in ATF pallet in and set in tray.
Sure I paint thing for my amusement and then offer them for sale. A brushslinger could whither en die from lack of creativity in this plastic town my horse threw a shoe in. :shock:
Cal Trauter
Posts: 13
Joined: Sun Mar 17, 2013 11:34 am
Contact:

Re: New in Signs and questioning !

Post by Cal Trauter »

Hey Olivier,
What I found out about using Tinting White and Tinting Black, is that they work well for tinting and shading. I don't know chemically what the difference is, but today mixing a Pantone (PMS) colour, this is where the tinting White shines. The Pantone system called for a transparent White in the mix, and this where I used the Tinting White. I have been told that this is for anal retentive artists, but it works for me LOL.
Cheers and happy painting.
I also use Neatsfoot oil to oil my brushes. The other common products for this are any of the commercial brush oils from Kafka. Mr. J, saffire oil, mineral oil, and even Vaseline. The extra money spent in the care of brushes is a good thing in my opinion as these little babies assist me in producing my signage art.
Kent Smith
Posts: 569
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2004 6:41 pm
Location: Estes Park, CO
Contact:

Re: New in Signs and questioning !

Post by Kent Smith »

We created tinting white and tinting black to go with our color matching system for Pantone simulations. They both have emulsifiers so that they stay in suspension when mixing colors. Regular black and white tend to fall out of the mix. It is true that they tend to be more transparent and consequently the white works well in multi-color mixtures. As Dan indicated, a transparent shading gray can be mixed in clear (finishing clear) and a drop or two of either will make some colors cover better without the heavy color change in regular black or white. OneShot made both after we came out with them but now have our fomulae and are using them.

FYI for those interested, the OneShot 6000 reducer is now our original ChromaFlo formula and marketed as such. Remember to add only once to your paint then use High Temp reducer to continue as the paint thickens during use. ChromaFlo is a good additive to make the tinting colors disperse better.
Post Reply