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airbrushing slow size?

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vance galliher
Posts: 321
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2004 11:38 pm
Location: springfield, or.
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airbrushing slow size?

Post by vance galliher »

I have a large gemini letter ( 2"x18"x26") to gild. I'm thinking of airbrushing it LaFranc slow size. I've added a little mineral spirit to thin the size but it still spudders, so I need to add more. My concern is how much thinner can I add without screwing up the size tacting ? Thanks for all replies......
Jim Moser
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 4:36 pm
Location: Grass Valley, Ca.

Post by Jim Moser »

For something that big you might be better off with a small spray gun instead of the airbrush. Several years ago one of the shops in Sacramento had a lot of Gemini letters to gild for Wells Fargo Bank....almost everyone in the area was working on the project. Jim Bradley and Gary Berg did a large number of them and used a spray gun to apply the size.
Life is much too important to be taken seriously
vance galliher
Posts: 321
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2004 11:38 pm
Location: springfield, or.
Contact:

slow size spray

Post by vance galliher »

Went to Harbor Freight and got a nice little hvlp gun
(5 oz) for 60 bucks. I think it did a great job, didn't need to thin size anymore and didn't use very much material either...., not nearly as much as I would have had I brushed it. A nice thin layer. We'll see tomorrow night when I lay the leaf........
Doug Bernhardt
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Post by Doug Bernhardt »

Vance....me thinks "the Boss" used to also reprime the letters in advance of something like this....and he used to spray with a metal primer. I think the spray (size) with an HVLP is a good idea and would give one letter a try first, even IF it seems all is well.
Terry Colley
Posts: 60
Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2004 2:26 am
Location: Stockport England

Post by Terry Colley »

Another tip on this, instead of thinning place the tin of size in a pan of boiling water for a couple of mins, the heat is enough to thin the size for spraying . This also works with varnishes and by not adding thinners you don't risk any loss of gloss. one from the old boys box of tricks
cheers Terry
Terry Colley
Stockport, England
Signwriter/maker
vance galliher
Posts: 321
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2004 11:38 pm
Location: springfield, or.
Contact:

slow sizing

Post by vance galliher »

A follow-up to the gilded letter……..Whenever I lay size, I really try to pay close attention to what I’m doing. I always go back over and re-examine the area I just sized to make sure I didn’t miss a little spot in the corner, an errant brush hair, a small run, bug, or whatnot. After waiting an hour or so I re-check the area just to be sure everything is going well. If I see that I have less than the perfect coverage, I’m always faced with the same decision…how to fix it without it looking like a patch. Sometimes I’ve been so anal that I would remove all the size and do it over. With this Gemini letter that I had sprayed with slow size it look perfect at first inspection, a nice thin even coat. After an hour or so I noticed a few small fish-eyes has developed (I cleaned it really well with naphtha and scotchbrite ?) I tried feathering them out with a little more size on a soft brush and it looked ok, but I did not want it to look like a patch. So rather than wipe it all off…. I took a risk and re-sprayed the whole letter again with a few more light coats of size!! ??….I laid the leaf the next day after 16 hours or so and I got the best surface gild ever.
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