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Fast dry gold size

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

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Robert Schwieger
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:38 pm
Location: Nebraska

Fast dry gold size

Post by Robert Schwieger »

Is the water based fast dry gold leaf size as effective (and appropriate) on glass work as oil based size. I am thinking primarily of the durability of the product.
Mike Jackson
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Re: Fast dry gold size

Post by Mike Jackson »

Robert...that's a really good question and I will be anxious to read what others say. Personally, I wouldn't use it and would opt for the tried and true oil sizes.
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Lee Littlewood
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Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2004 2:36 pm
Location: Portland, Oregon
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Re: Fast dry gold size

Post by Lee Littlewood »

(maybe no one is answering because no one has tried it?) (nah, I've seen lots of brass leaf window signs that were done with WundaSize)

I have not done any glass work with Wunda - are there any other water-based sizes out there?
I know someone who did, doing outlines then laying brass leaf into Wunda centers. On some of them the brass tarnished (as it will on oil size too) and on some it held bright for years. So for brass and copper leaf i think it may be a reasonable idea.
The problem i have with it is that it does not flow out well, so you get big brush marks, and sometimes if you're not quick it will pick itself up and makes 'strings' while you're brushing it in. I've always wondered about flow enhancers, but never experimented. (Adding glycerine does not work.)
But it does dry quickly, and you can spin aluminum or copper leaf if you're gentle.

The question was durability on glass. Since I mostly see it on surface gilds (trucks, around here) I dunno how well it would take the UV coming through the glass, then bouncing back again as it reflects from the metal leaf. Quick size eventually gets brittle and breaks down, but I think (the rubbery feel) that Wunda might stay flexible for a long time.

Sure, go for it - what could go wrong?
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Andrew Lawrence
Posts: 61
Joined: Sat Jun 29, 2013 1:06 pm

Re: Fast dry gold size

Post by Andrew Lawrence »

To echo Lee a little bit, the main reason to not use Wunda size is that it doesn't flow out well and leaves a lot of brush strokes. The other reason not to use it is because it ruins brushes. I don't for the life of me know how to clean it out of a brush and I don't think it's possible. Oil sizes level really well which I think is why no one uses wunda for glass which can really emphasizes brushstrokes.
Lee Littlewood
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Re: Fast dry gold size

Post by Lee Littlewood »

Lacquer thin'r will pull Wunda out of a brush, sorta. Getting the brush into soapy water after you're done is a big help, but that will make a squirrel hair brush swell up. I knew some truck letterers who had dedicated brushes for Wunda size. So detergent water rinse; then lacquer thinner; then bar soap (Fels Naptha is good) and let the lather dry in the brush to protect the hairs and (sort of) 'train' them. But now it's not an oil-paint brush anymore.

With the new water based lettering paints have come brushes that don't react to water like squirrel hair does, and I bet these would be better suited to Wunda size.
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