gilding old copper weathervane????

joe cieslowski · Post by **joe cieslowski** » Sat May 06, 2006 10:36 am

What kind of surface prep do I need to do to prepare an old copper weather vane for gold leafing?

Thanks in advance,

Joe

Post by **Danny Baronian** » Sat May 06, 2006 11:23 am

Joe,

If it's raw with a natural patina, use a scotch brite pad or 4 aught steel wool to throughly clean the surface down to bare copper.

If it's painted, let the customer know there may be additional labor in the event of any requiried repairs hidden under the paint. Paint or varnish can be stripped with Jasco stripper or methylene chloride, followed by the steps above.

Do a final cleaning with naptha, wipe down with a clean cotton cloth and size as usual.

joe cieslowski · Post by **joe cieslowski** » Sat May 06, 2006 3:14 pm

Thanks Danny,

They just left. It had been gilded in the past and is scaling off in spots. The gold is also pretty much warn off. It also has been repaired in places with soder. (It had blown off a barn coupla)

I estimated it would take 5 books of gold with 2 hrs labor to get it clean.

They may be back....or not.

Thanks Again,

Joe,