First, I want to second the comment on iso-cyanates. These are typically found in most polyurethanes paints (usually automotive type paints) are they are to be given a good deal of respect. Don't use them unless you have read the MSDS and the safety instructions and understand the implications of ex...

Doug, and other misty-eyed nostalgia tragics, I have a book recommendation for you. The palace of signs: Memories of hard times and high times in the Great Depression By: Smith, Keith - published by Pan Macmillan, 1991 It may be hard to get in USA. I saw one on A...com for $80 which is pretty expens...

it's not quite as orange in the other photos I've got. It would just be gold size with a drop of colour added. You can see the matt areas are gold-size applied before it was water-gilded. Well, it's just more of that, but tinted. It's a glaze, so you can see the gold coming through. Often Asphaltum ...

it's just that your paint layer is too thick. The only solution is to keep it a bit thinner. Unless of course, you had some recently applied paint already down and then worked another layer on top of it. If this is the case, next time, leave the oil out of your first layer, put in a drop of drier, a...

Yes, Doug...The stone work on that building is pretty amazing. I'd love to see it directly in front. How's the size of the arched entrance. What a building. I just picked up something else...the sign on the left for C.P.Stanley Cigars...Judging by the reflection, it looks like glass, and you can see...

I love these photos. On the MISFIT sign, you can clearly see the bright outline of the G at the end of "clothing". In light of my previous post (number 9) on the glass panels used on a verandah, this looks like the same type of thing. That's makes two examples. The other thing I note which...

The other door wasn't open, so I didn't get good shots of it. The guys in the shop were busy and although they tolerated me pestering them about the signs and taking photos including from inside....I felt it would be pushing their patience too far to ask for more shots of the other door as well. The...

This old style butcher shop is still a working business. It's in a town called Cobargo in NSW. It may not look much at first glance, but each of the four door panels had a lovely sign with an edible animal featured. Note some of details.....nicely stippled background (no one stipples backgrounds any...

nice post Erik, very interesting. I'd like to see a photo of the entire stature. It's amusing to read their problems with wind blowing away the gold leaf....I had the same problem the last couple of weeks. I just finished a restoration job on a historic mansion, gilding column details outside. Some ...

Good answer Pat, It also fits in with my limited experience in working with kiln-formed glass. The last one I did, I did the glue-chipping first and kiln-slumped the glass into a convex later. The texture of the glue-chipping was unchanged. I also left a 50mm flange for support that was later cut-of...

Hi Lars, Nice to see you here and showing your new work. Looks like we have another convert. Welcome to the religion. hahaha. The materials and method you described sound fine. I noticed you also requested any comments on technique previously. I suspect no one answered because there was nothing wron...

Anthony, it works in the brush, but it's a thin paint and flows a bit too easily. Doesn't have any build. It's probably more of a stain than a true paint. I haven't tried it on glass, only vinyl and leather, but I just smeared some on to see what it does. It doesn't bead up (I thought it might) so t...

Great job.

I'd like to know how you did that kelp. It looks a bit like variegated leaf, but in the close-up shot it looks more dimensional. I can't tell if it's a painted finish or carved glass.
Also those eggs things (are they shark eggs?)...really nice interesting effect.

I just remembered, one of the local paint manufacturers started making a paint for taut liners. It's water based, but is very different from the usual acrylic paints. Dries glossy. Viponds' Taut-flex....I'm sure there are similar products available elsewhere. It sticks like nothing else to vinyl and...

Anthony, I didn't extract stills from the footage on the computer, although if you want to do that, it's pretty easy with any video editing software. My method was far less technical...I simply took photos of the screen in the museum while the footage was playing (it was running on an endless loop)....

I think the fuss made over the lack of lead is a little overdone. Australia dropped lead in paints many years ago...I haven't used a lead paint for maybe 15 years. Honestly, it's no big deal. Sure, the yellows and oranges don't cover as well....so just do another coat..it won't kill you. ...after al...

It looks like Microgramma to me.

Assuming I'm looking at the right section of text.

I would suspect that there might be wax on the leather.

Wax will migrate into the paint seriously retarding the drying time.

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Oops, I just re-read your post and your already stated that you cleaned the ball with alcohol. I would have thought that would do the trick.

These photos are stills taken from a very early piece of movie footage. It was shot in Ballarat, Victoria depicting a ride through the main street in a cable car. It earns a place in my archive for this very unusual glass facade on a shopfront verandah. The shop has long gone, and I've never seen an...

You can paint lettering using either acrylic paint or the traditional oil-based paints like one-shot. They feel different in the brush. Water-based acrylic paints tend to give you less feedback of the feel of the brush but I find it much quicker to write with them. Oils pull on the brush more and le...

Berwick is not far away. There's a lot more to Melbourne than shopping in Chadstone or Fountain Gate. You can do that in any city and its' always exactly the same experience!

Oh, yes, I used a plotter to mark out the grid..actually, I mentioned a paper pattern in the original post.

Larry, Metho is just a Aussie slang term for methylated spirits. Alcohol. same stuff you use for shellac (except for Erik...hahaha). 20 books of leaf is about right. I've run out of white gold now...have to order a new batch. Also, if you or any other forum members comes to Melbourne. I sure hope yo...

hahaha....I'm enjoying the little tangent of the last few posts. To answer the question how I did the arch. There's no vinyl involved (I don't like gilding over vinyl, the edge breaks up)...but it's really easy. I just scraped it back with a stylus I laid the moon gold first, then I laid the white g...

it takes longer than chemical silvering for sure. I guess using leaf instead of chemical method is just my personal preference. I feel that I have control over the finish, and there's a lot of different directions you can take it.Whether it's worth the money depends on the client I guess. Actually, ...

Thanks for the great comments. look older from the back hey? Thanks a lot Anthony!...hahaha. I guess I have to admit, the photo shows the truth that my hair is getting thinner and a small bald patch starting to appear...Oh well...I'll wear it as a badge of experience. I'm 52. And Erik...no, that's n...

I'm getting an increasing number of enquiries for antique-looking mirror. I thought I would share with you guys some photos of one I did last week along with a few tips. First stage is spattering some marks over the glass. I do this in several stages. thinned black, even thinner black, thinned down ...

I have more photos showing various details, but obviously I just post a few select shots otherwise it will make the post too long. Yes, they are acid-etched. Not all pub mirrors of this era were acid etched, but from the surviving examples, it seems to have been fairly common to etch the letter cent...

I have more photos showing various details, but obviously I just post a few select shots otherwise it will make the post too long. Yes, they are acid-etched. Not all pub mirrors of this era were acid etched, but from the surviving examples, it seems to have been fairly common to etch the letter cent...

faded but fabulous. Woollahra is an inner suburb of Sydney. This wine shop is a great example of the use of mirrors on the shopfront. Pubs typically used mirrors a lot and they were often attached to the outside walls of a pub for advertising. In this case, it's a retail shop, but follows the same t...

faded but fabulous. Woollahra is an inner suburb of Sydney. This wine shop is a great example of the use of mirrors on the shopfront. Pubs typically used mirrors a lot and they were often attached to the outside walls of a pub for advertising. In this case, it's a retail shop, but follows the same t...