Erik, I thought that the bad kids got a lump of coal. On a more serious note - calcium carbonate - ie whiting - might be translated as kalk because it is, in fact, powdered chalk. When it is compressed into a stick you can use it to write on a blackboard. It is also used as a filler for vitamin pill...

Before anyone spends to much money at the chemical supply store please remember that calcium carbonate is the chemical name for whiting and whiting is available at any stained glass supply store in 1 lb and 5 lb buckets. Unlike calcium gluconate, it does not have a shelf life or any special storage ...

Silvering is just the same as Angel Gilding except that the silver deposits faster - 5 minutes for silver and 20 - 45 minutes for gold depending on how warm your shop is. I'm not sure what you mean about the wasted liquid. If you mean the liquid that poured off the glass after you silvered it - that...

We get this question fairly often so I put together a comparison chart at http://www.angelgilding.com/Angel_Gildi ... _Leaf.html with the help of Robert Frese at Chicagold Signs. Nobody knows more about this issue than the folks that read this forum - love to know what you think.

Float glass was invented by Pilkington in 1959 and it is perfectly flat without any distortion. Any window glass made before that was made by the cylinder process - machine blown cylinders about 40 feet tall and 2 feet across that were slit open and reheated to flatten them. They all have some disto...

Erik,

That is really cool - thanks very much for "putting us on the map" I'm sure the list will grow as you find more "keepers of the craft."

Thanks, Catharine - glad you liked it! I forgot to mention that we have a new page called Angel Gilding vs. Gold Leaf. I tried to be fair but I am, of course, biased so any suggstions - feedback - blazing rants - total cussing out - or whatever would be interesting. I'm not a gold leaf person but I ...

Just to let you know - we have completely redesigned our website at http://www.angelgilding.com . We outgrew our old store and needed space to add new products and new information in the months to come. We hope you like it. We would never be where we are without the wonderful Hand Lettering Forum! Y...

A note to let you know that: http://www.AngelGilding.com has been, By Appointment to His Majesty Dave Smith, the distinct honor to become the Sole Purveyor of Fine Gilding Smith Tips to the American Market. My Lords, ladies and gentlemen, please phone if you are interested. We don't have them on our...

Dave - the MOT just won't know what hit 'em. Think it will pass?

Dave - the MOT just won't know what hit 'em. Think it will pass?

Well Pat, I'm not sure that blasting is as much fun as a candy bar. Where the glue has not chipped completely you can see the scratch lines in the glass just as you can see the matte areas on unchipped sandblasted glass. Since the scratches are very small and close together they reflect the light in...

I am always looking for ways to do things without machinery so I thought I would report that you can glue chip without sandblasting. I bought a couple of diamond point pencils and one carbide tipped pencil and tried scratching the glass instead of sandblasting. I then glue chipped the design and it ...

Yeah, well, if I paid attention it might help. Sorry :oops: Kelly!!

Dave, I'll have to try it. I don't know why using more caustic would make a difference but getting the tin right to the edge is important. 22 grams of stannous chloride per liter is a very high concentration of tin - you must be rinsing the glass with a lot of water and going through a lot of chemic...

I have been doing a lot of experiments with silvering and gilding on top of a vinyl mask and it really works great. I have been meaning to post photos of this for some time now but still haven't figured out how. Do the surface techniques - chipping and etching - first then silver or Angel Gild right...

Rick - and other folks - recommend mixing 2 parts water to 1 part glue by weight. I use this ratio for used glue that has dried hard as well as new glue granules. The best way to deal with hot liquid left over glue is to spread out the backing paper from your vinyl mask with the shiny release side u...

Kent, The difference you saw in silvering old and new glass is very interesting - especially in the tin since no one (so far as I know) seems to know just exactly how the tinning process works. I'll have to see if I can get some very old clear glass (maybe from repairing some old stained glass windo...

While we are looking at cause and effect, I have been wondering if Rawson and Evans got those deep polished chips because they were using softer glass rather than because of their drying techniques. Not all glass is the same. Even when the same technique is used to make the glass the formulas differ...

And thank you Pat for your expertise. I figure the more a person knows about how and why something works the less they need to depend on "magic" to get consistant results. I would like to ask Dave about his light table. I assume that it contains long flourescent tube lights and that the ma...

Larry,

Thanks very much for trying it. It is very interesting that it didn't work. There must be something going on with the little proteins that I haven't figured out yet but I can't agrue with success - if it works, it works! Now I don't have to buy an air conditioner - which is great.

I'm not sure about the air condition either but it would fit the theory of how glue works. I've tried chipping with a small room de-humidifier. The air gets very, very dry but the temperature in my tent goes up to about 120 degrees. The theory states that heat relaxes the bonds between the glue and ...

Hide glue is a protein and all proteins have a very specific melting point. If it gets too hot it changes its nature - Just like an egg white when you fry it. If you "fry" the glue it won't stick to anything. Dry hide glue is like a bunch of tight tangled springs covered with suckers - a c...

Hey Mike, thanks for the link. I've been looking around but I'd missed that one. Several ideas there that I can ask my customer about. I'm not sure if he even knows that there are different styles for the different branches of medicine. You sure know how to make the rest of us look good.

It's not as sexy as Dave Smith's new gilders tip but I wanted to annouce that we have found a way to treat mirror runoff so you can pour it down the drain with a clear conscience. It is a flocculating clay that is specially formulated to absorb and isolate heavy metals. Add 15 g (1/2 tablespoon) to ...

I've been investigating the glue chipping process too, so I asked my neice who is a micro-biologist about the proteins in the glue and I thought her reply was very helpful. She wrote: Imagine each protein molecule as a coiled spring covered all along it's length in suckers (electrostatic bonds). The...

Rich, I do a lot of stained glass repair and I've never seen gilded lead - which is not to say that it can't or shouldn't be done. I don't do surface gilding so someone else will have to chime in on how to gild lead and the lead/tin solder that holds the window together. You could get almost the sam...

I agree. This is really great. I had a great chat with Keith in Cincinnati about the origin of the term "Angel Gilding." I thought that Rick Glawson had invented it but Keith said that it was much older than that. I am very sorry that I didn't make notes at the time, but it was right befor...

Mike,

Now that you mention it ....... we have some hangers you might be interested in. They have a tensile strength of about 1,500 lbs. each. Phone me to discuss price. http://www.angelgilding.com/glasshangers.asp

Robert,

How could I pass up the chance?

We have Mineral or Tin Side Lights. Go to http://www.angelgilding.com/tools.asp [url] Also clean rinsing glass cleaner in powder and liquid form.

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