Mike's Step by Step Gold leaf art Panel?

[Felix Marcano]

Hi everyone. Mike, I was reading your article on the gold rush panel & was wondering:

What's Tinning?

Also, you said that after pouring a solution of gold you put a layer or 2 of
silver mirroring solution. What is the purpose of the silver? Isn't the gold mirror like already?


Thanks, Felix

[Danny Baronian]

Felix,

Tinning is a chemical solution applied to the glass to accept chemical disposition, be it silver, gold, lead nitrate or copper. The metal disposition actually binds to the tin, not the glass. Think of it as a chemical double sided tape, it binds in two directions, to the glass and to the metal deposit.

The silver backs up the gold since the gold by itself is fragile and easily damaged. Silver in turn is backed up with back up paint.

[Doug Fielder]

Why not just back up the gold? Is the silver tougher? To clean off the excess, is it done the same way as water gilding? I haven't read the article yet, just asking questions based on my current understanding.

[Danny Baronian]

The gold has to be silvered in angel gilding. The gold is fragile enough to be wiped off easily. The order for angel gilding is gilding, silvering and backing up by hand or by screen printing. After the back up has dried, silver strip is sprayed onto the glass and carefully wiped down with cotton, leaving only the backed up areas.

The silver is durable enough that it requires silver strip to remove it from unwanted areas.

[Felix Marcano]

Does it matter what side of the glass this is done on?

[Mike Jackson]

Felix,
When Rick was alive, he was always experimenting. As many people know, his Angel Gild process seemed to work fine some times and not work well others. After learning more about how glass was manufactured, he learned how to inspect the two sides of a piece of glass using a Mineral Light (black light). One side was always clear, while the other had an invisible, permanent mineral film. So, there was a point in time where we were all told to buy the light and use the clear side, partially blaming the glass for causing the problems.

This, of course, is only an option on a sheet of plate glass, but not on an installed door or window. Beveled glass is another example.

In the later years, I think he had abandoned the black light inspection step, placing the blame for Angel Gild failures on other steps or materials. Still, I use the black light before working on a piece of glass, just to be sure.

Mike Jackson

[Felix Marcano]

Thanks Mike. Man I wish I could have met Rick. Just speaking to him over the phone could show one what a great person he was, but I never met him in person.

Thanks again.

Felix

[Dennis Davis]

Hi Mike. I haven't been able to find the exact procedure for testing the glass with the black light. Would you be kind enough to explain the procedure. I have a light but just need how to use it.

Thanks.

Dennis in Boise

[Sarah King]

On using silver over the gold in Angel Gilding - you can get a wonderful 24 karat plus layer of gold if you double gild - that is, pour on two coats of gold. But, as Danny says, the gold does not stick very firmly to the glass. It's very easy to scratch or wipe off. By pouring a layer or two of silver over the gold, you make the mirror layer more durable, maybe more brilliant and certainly less expensive. On the open market these days a Troy ounce of silver metal costs about $6.00 and a Troy ounce of gold costs about $420 - one reason why Angel Gilding is cheaper than gold leaf.

To use a mineral light: Clean the glass on both sides. Turn on the light and press the lighted rectangle right up against one side of the glass. Look at the light from the other side - through the glass. If the color you see is milky white then you are holding the light pressed against the tin side of the glass. If the light you see is clear purple then the light is pressed against the non-tin - or non-contaminated side.

The light looks milky white on the tin side because all those little molecules of tin that the glass picked up from floating on melted tin when it was being made (if it is, in fact, float glass) are being bombarded by the ultraviolet rays from the light and fluorescing (like those algae in the ocean). But don't just sit and stare at the light. The ultraviolet wave length that makes this process work is not very good for you. Like the sun, a little is not a problem but too much might be.

And a small note of shameless self promotion - we have the mineral lights in stock at www.angelgilding.com - we just haven't posted them on the web site yet - but if you want one give us a call. (Sorry, Mike)