No. You have to mask off the area that you don't want etched with vinyl (or asphaltum)

That's Hydrofluoric Acid etching, yes. Was that your question?

Looks like something wasn't clean. Whether it was your glass, your tip, your brush or your size. You can clean your tip and watersize brush with dawn, just let it dry fully before using. Clean out your size jar with dawn and give it a good rinse. After you put bon ami on the glass, take a few paper ...

I came upon a job where a client wanted some long pinstripes on a door. The problem was that they were nearly 8' long x 31" wide... and there were two doors. The real kicker was that they wanted burnished or mirrored gold leaf. Yikes. I learned about 5 years ago from Noel Weber how to lay roll ...

I post a good deal on the social medias but thought I'd share here since it's an invaluable resource. I first saw the original of this piece in the book "California's Best" that has a small section on breweriana and glass signs. There's a local bay area man that has an original so I was re...

Try Morning Calm - you can find it on Etsy and on Ebay. Pretty good quality

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MorningCalmStore

The Building painter said that because every house painter does two coats. They have to because their paint doesn't have the opacity to cover in one coat. If you get full coverage with one coat, just do one coat. You'll have to redo it eventually as all paint fades, cracks and eventually goes down h...

This may come a bit late, but I've found out that John Hastings has passed away last year May 9th 2017. Some of you might recognize that last name as he was the last of the Hastings family who made Hastings gold leaf. I was able to meet him once as he self published a book on his families history an...

Just because a client wants something doesn't mean it is possible or practical. I'd just tell them that it is not feasible due to technical limitations. Furthermore, the water size is going to oxidize the copper and turn it brown or green over time.

You should try using red gold instead of copper leaf. Copper is too thick to get a clean edge with unless you do your outlines first. Also don't use one shot to back up or for outlines, use nazdar fast dry enamel - I believe Handover in UK sells it.

Hey John

Thanks for posting it on there. I bid it and hope to get it from ya! Been looking for this booklet for a long time now!

Anyone have a Colortones Paint Formula Book for sale or know of anyone that does? You got a phone number for me to call or someone to contact? Let me know. I work in a big city with people demanding PMS XYZ123 all the time and any help I could get on trying to color match would be a really big deal ...

Made a video on the different ways in which one can learn how to gild

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYQRd9Dwo6U

Yeah I was a bit surprised myself. He emphasized that the only difference between the fast size and the slow size was Castor Oil - and a great deal of it. It's what gives the long tack time for the slow size as opposed to a linseed oil. We did a smell test of Rolco and Dux a few years back at a Conc...

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 le...

Just got off the phone with a tech at Dux. I had given him a call because a client of mine wanted to know how green/Leed compliant my products were (kind of a pain in the as) so I gave Dux a call. He informed me that the quick size is actually Tung Oil based and not Linseed Oil. He also informed me ...

Looks like the size and the paint aren't compatible. Maybe try painting a thin coat of imitation gold/yellow ochre where you are going to letter and then hitting it with the 12 hour. Never seen anything like that though.

Like I said Terry, the only circumstance that you would use it in is if you painted the outlines of the letters first and then water gilded within them. I don't know what it does to them chemically - it might make it a tad less bright but there is no reason to put a detergent in your water size unle...

Hi Mike Thank you for the update. I figured out how to attach eventually. Hi Kevin No detergent is ever needed in the size unless you are gilding over an outline of a letter - for example, you painted black outlines for the lettering and you need to gild inside the letters. 4-5 diamonds per pint. I ...

I just thought I'd post here on a typical gilding job for me. I am located in San Francisco and there are a real abundance of Victorian houses here - which means there are a lot of transoms. These are the glass panels above the door of a house that was just an architectural function to let in a bit ...

I've seen a few novice gilders use it with novice results. There's no magic tip (including the Smith Tip) that you can break out and get a perfect gild with. Every tip is just a tool and to have mastery over it requires time and practice. In my observations, it's a really slow operation and the resu...

I use VMP Naptha or Naptha - this was recommended to me by Ron Percell at Letterhead Sign Supply and it has yet to fail. It's also the main component in the one shot based thinners. Doesn't seem too toxic but then again exposure to chemicals isn't too bad in the industry. Minimal at worst.

I just saw a bunch of blue colors on it and a note, didn't see it actually scraped off and re-gilded though... Any photos?

After recently talking with John Hastings III today, I've been able to convince him to sell me a number of copies of his self published book "Hastings Gold Leaf." The book catalogs the history of and manufacture of gold leaf, the history of the Hastings company and an appendix that feature...

Try AskLouie@ppg.com

"Please give details of the product Shadazzle. I am assuming this is used as Bon Ami is used."

Same use as Bon Ami for gold removal. Slightly less harsh on paint. Nice Lemony smell.

Just as an update - I used the above mentioned formula successfully on location. Gave it about an hour or two dry time for the outlines, then hit it with steel wool and gilded on top. No issues. Used Shadazzle to clean off the excess which worked well.

Agreed Pat - Thing is Lacquer Thinners and VM&P Naptha vary a lot regionally. I know here in California a lot of Lacquer Thinners have been getting diluted and I know that VM&P Naptha is harder to find here. I've always been happy with VM&P Naptha so haven't ventured into the hotter lacq...

As an update - I talked to a rep at Nazdar, someone with technical know how and he gave me a little insight. I initially asked about the 6100 series, specifically if it was light fast. The answer was that it has a 1 year rating, the 59000 series having a 2+ year rating. However, the tech I was talki...

Did a little test - a 50/50 mix of LSS back up black and nazdar 59000 series, used Naptha to thin and Hardener. Water gilded it in 2 hours, backed it up with LSS back up and cleaned off the excess. No problems as far as I can see and that amount of 59000 series should be enough to not grey out, but ...