Posted by Larry White on April 01, 2004
So, as mentioned earlier, my next project was going to be the La Belle Supreme sign from the vector file download from this site. I decided to go big - the glass is 61" x 42". I decided to do a full glue chipped backgound, leaving the scroll work smooth. This will then be silvered. A couple of personal notes on glue chipping:
1) I just clean the glass with glass cleaner prior to the asphaltum varnish. I think that over cleaning the glass keeps the asphaltum from sticking as good.
2) Of all the different masking materials I've used, I like Venture Tape's 4 mil white Sandblast mask. It seems to stick good to the asphaltum and hasn't "blown" in the sand blasting process.It also peels easy after sandblasting. I prefer to weed the stencil prior to application rather than after it's stuck to the glass.
3) After flowing the glue on, I go back and cut the glue any where it has bridged, or radiused around a sharp corner. Actually, I go back and put a small cut at every corner thats 90 degrees or less. That includes on all the lettering. It's my belief that doing this little extra step ensures sharp points and corners.
4) While flowing on the glue, I found that I missed one dot in the design that didn't get weeded, or sandblasted. I took my electric micro engraver and etched in the dot and put the glue on. This technique could also be used if there were a few stubborn spots of asphaltum that didn't get blasted off.
After the glue chips off, I will be silvering the entire background. I'll post some notes on that in this thread, or if it gets buried, I'll start another one.
...the way I figure it, there's no time like the present for starting another glass sign...so,
...quit talkin' about it and do it...
always havin' fun... LW
Ron Berlier
Larry WhiteHi Larry,
This is a pretty good sized piece of glass. How thick is it?
Did you pour all the glue at one time? And if you did was there enough time to cut all the letter corners, etc. before the glue setup?
Keep havin' fun
Ron
It's standard 1/4" plate glass with a 2" bevel on the front. A lot of times I use extra-clear glass for my art, but this time I went standard plate which has a bit more green color to it.
This has been done with the asphaltum method where the glue is meticulously flowed over the sandblast areas right up to the asphaltum with a squeeze bottle (...you know that method). The glue was still gel enough to slice the corners. Slicing the corners relieves the tension that can cause the corner to over chip into the clear area you want to keep. The cut basically bisects the angle in half and the glue peels away from each side of the cut keeping the corner nice and sharp. ...carry on...
LW
Larry White - 8 Hours Later
Harry OWe're experiancing a bit of a dry spell in No.Cal. I thought I was going to have to put the piece in the chipping booth this morning, but much to my surprise it was already half chipped! So I rolled it out into sun to finish it off!
...you can't beat that!
...on to the next thing... -LW
Larry...I notice no chipping cabinet or heat source. I chipped glass this way but now have a cabinet. Is the shop warm or cold?
Larry White - Really 18 Hours Later
Catharine C. Kennedy - Display?This chipped overnight in our shop. I'm guessing it was about 50 degrees. Chipping really isn't about heat, it's about humidity. It just happens we're in a real dry condition yesterday and today. Currently we're at 25 % humidity and it's breezy (off shore dry wind). -LW
Larry WhiteHow are you going to display this piece after it's done?
Larry White - Later That Day...I'll probably build my own frame for this one similiar to the large Milestone Mfg. sign or the Corina Cigars sign. Then I'll probably hang it up on the wall here at the shop (we got large walls) and enjoy it every day! ...I'll probably put some high price tag on it and put it up on my website for sale.
-LW
Well it finished chipping so I cleaned it up and bingo!
It was the dryness in the air that got it to chip so fast.
Some additional notes:
1) After it appears to be done chipping, I go around and lightly tap off the remaining glue with my exacto knife and brush the whole thing down.
2) Next, while it's laying flat, I flood it with water. Then I cover it with a layer of flat paper towels over the entire surface. After it has soaked for about 30 minutes, I lightly scrape off the swollen glue with a razor blade. Then I dry it all off.
3) I then flood the surface with paint thinner and let it soak for about 10 minutes. Sometimes I scrub it around with an old bristle brush. I then wipe it all off with paper towels. It's my belief that if you've chipped in a hot booth for an extended period of time, the asphaltum gets baked on and is much more difficult to remove.
4) After cleaning with the paint thinner I spray it with some Quick Release Agent. This seems to pull up any asphaltum that got down into the crevases of the chip. I then clean it with glass cleaner, both sides.
I started this project when I recieved the glass at 10:00AM on Wednesday. Not bad progress for 3 days work. Next will be the silvering. I hope to get to that next week. ...take care all... -LW
Dan Seese
Danny BaronianLarry,
Thanks for chronicle. It's interesting to check in and see the work as it progresses.
Larry White - Frosted AreasNice job Larry!
I'll bet it's easier chipping a large piece like this, rather than the smaller pieces that are typical at the meets. Were there many frosted areas?
I think you need to angle gild this one. You'd only need a 10 or 12 ounces of gold. And hope it all went perfectly the first time.
Danny
Vance GalliherThere were relatively few areas of sandblast remaining. Some in the "R" and above the "C" in cigars. Not enough to comand any rework. The larger areas do chip better due to more tension in the glue, but the fine lines chipped good and the little 1/8" dots around the ring have a bit of texture.
I will be silvering this piece. That large of area in gold might be a bit overwhelming (...to the pocket book too).
I'll keep this thread running until it's done.
...carry on... -LW
Larry White - Thanks!.........this is getting exciting now!......thank you larry for taking the time to share how you create your beautiful work.....many of us here are familiar with some or most of what you do..... and some of us do..... or want to do.... the quality of your work ....but few of us are as able to share it with such seemingly ease of giving !......so thank you for making your "conclave" available.....and truly being a "keeper of our craft"...vance
Larry White - Golly Vern...Whatta ya want to do today...Thanks Vance, I really only want to be an inspiration to others. Anybody can do this art with a little perserverance and dedication. As to sharing...
...I had a great teacher...Rick Glawson.
-LW
Larry White - From the Front After Silvering...let's do some silvering!
Okay, heck with next week, I found some time today to do the silvering. A tip I got from David Smith was to reapply a vinyl stencil over the areas I didn't need silvered and at the same time it would create the bright line at the edge of the vinyl and I wouldn't have to paint it, just paint the back-up for the silver up to the mask, then remove it and the letters are ready to fill. I hadn't tried this before but it worked slick!
A few notes:
1) I cleaned the glass real good with glass cleaner and inspected for any small glass chips that needed to be popped out. I then cleaned it real well with an ammonia and whiting mixture.
2) I placed the vinyl stencil pieces, and carefully cleaned it again with the ammonia and whiting as I had touched the surface when applying the stencil. After cleaning, I gave it a full rinse with tap water.
3) I tinned the entire surface (32oz. of tin solution) and swabbed the tin around with a ball of cotton. Then I fully rinsed it with tap water followed by a rinse of distilled water.
4) I mixed up about 60 oz. of silver solution and quickly poured it over the entire surface. It went down quite evenly. I mixed another 30 oz. of solution and poured it on the areas that appeared a little light and all around the edge. After deposition, it was rinsed with tap water.
...no time like the present... -LW
Larry White - Back That Sucker UpHere it is from the front. ...oooo nice.....
Silvering a big piece like this and having it be relatively flawless can really get you stoked!
The red is the vinyl mask...guess I'll go back paint it now.
...see ya later... -LW
Robare M. NovouThe back is coated with asphaltum varnish. After it's dry, I'll weed the stencil.
...I'm getting tired... -LW
Larry White - Main Copy LetteringLarry.....geeeeezzzz, that's sweet looking!!!
Are you going to gild the lettering? As I see you did not back it up with asphaltum.
RMN
Yes, I'm going to do a 23K water gild on the main copy, probably with an outline and narrow drop shadow. The rest of the copy will be painted, probably some sort of blended colors. I'm also going to gild the ring and i have a nice pictorial on the way for the center.
Thanks for following along.... -LW
Denver Chapter of the Letterheads