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Smith's Cream

Hand Lettering topics: Sign Making, Design, Fabrication, Letterheads, Sign Books.

Moderators: Ron Percell, Mike Jackson, Danny Baronian

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John Lennig
Posts: 101
Joined: Thu May 13, 2004 10:53 am
Location: Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
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Smith's Cream

Post by John Lennig »

Hello all, i'm wanting to some smallish(panel is 11"x18",MDO) paint-oneshot- areas on this panel, and do a little blending.
i've tried using the various mixes recommended on the Smith's label, but get poor results, forever to dry. I just want to do a bit of blend, using round little fitch, kinda poor mans oil painting.

any help would be appreciated, thanks

JOhn Lennig / SignRider
"You spelled it wrong!"
Mike Jackson
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Post by Mike Jackson »

John,
I never used much Smith's cream, but I own a can or two of it. People like Bill Hueg doing large pictorials on billboards like it because it gives them plenty of time to blend large areas before their paints start drying or skinning over. He often uses large jars of artist's oil colors which are naturally slow drying and generally forgiving. So, by design, Smith's Cream is very slow drying and will keep a pictorial wet for days or even weeks, depending on how much you use.

Bill often spots in a base of Smiths Cream for the entire 8' tall face, then starts adding base coats followed by highlights and shadows. Then those are blended into the base layers.

Some people add some Smith's Cream into their lettering enamels to slow it down when trying to get a blended area. Again, the down side is it takes a long time to dry. That is either a "feature" or a "flaw" depending on your needs.

Carol Chapel had a post on the old board talking about using some Smith's Cream with some paint on a banner. From my recollection of the post, it NEVER dried.

If someone is up for the task, they could start a Signmaking 101: Features, Techniques and Uses for Smith's Cream (in new thread)

Mike
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

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Dan Seese
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Post by Dan Seese »

I'll go ahead and start that new thread and see what we can come up with.
Rick Sacks
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Post by Rick Sacks »

John, for the small blending job you describe, I think paletting the brush with some boiled linseed oil might work better than Smith Cream.
Mendocino, California
"Where the redwoods meet the Sea"
Mike Jackson
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Post by Mike Jackson »

There was an old wall dog in Oklahoma City who preferred "stand" oil instead of boiled Linseed oil. Not sure why, but he did pretty darned nice wall work for Coca Cola all over the region.

Mike
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
John Lennig
Posts: 101
Joined: Thu May 13, 2004 10:53 am
Location: Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Contact:

smiths cream

Post by John Lennig »

Thanks Mike,Rick, yes, the boiled oil sounds right, save the quart of Cream for a BIG JOB! But, got the Formula that was posted written on the label of the can.

John Lennig
"You spelled it wrong!"
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