gilding textured letters...............

vance galliher · Post by **vance galliher** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 10:55 am

I had earlier posted about doming some 15" aluminum letters I had waterjet cut. The doming turned out great and I was about to gild them when the architect asked if I could add some texture. I went with Magic Smooth and it was like putting frosting on a cake. Before the Smooth cured, I dusted with some gold mica powder and air-hosed off the loose powder that didn't stick in all the nocks and crannies. Now I'm ready to apply the slow size. On my test piece, I airbrushed the size on with several light passes, not wanting it to puddle up in the crevices. After gilding, there were quite a few places where the gold didn’t stick……….that’s why I did the dusting with mica on the “real” letters. If you were doing this, would you spray or brush the size ? Thanks for all replies

vance galliher · Post by **vance galliher** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 1:06 am

..I solved my own problem. Soft brush with size............looks great !

Post by **Danny Baronian** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 2:16 am

Hi Vance,

glad you solved the problem. What brand and type size did you use?

I've been tempted to spray on size, but was advised against it.

This shield was just installed last week., is 42" in diameter, and 4" deep. I used a 50/50 mix of Le franc 3 hour and 12 hour size. The size was applied with a japan brush and was ready to gild in 12 hours with about a one day open time.

The thistle in the center is 5/8" deep. Was able to get into the crevices well, as I had no holidays.

My supply of Le franc is getting low, so at Doug Bernhardt's suggestion I purchased some luna size from Germany that I need to test with the same combination of 3 and 12 hour size.

Anyone try out the new Le franc formula, and if so how does it compare to the original?

When you get a chance, post some pictures.

Thanks,

Danny

Billy Pickett · Post by **Billy Pickett** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 6:06 am

...Spraying size works fine for very many dimensional applications. I especially like spraying it for glass work, but the piece has to be masked well. GL size always works best when applied in the thinnest possible coat, and spraying is great for this. Mixing transparent enamels (like blue, green, red) w. size is great for colored matt gilds on glass pieces, and HAS to be sprayed. If transparent paint w. varnish is brushed on the brush marks can look inconsistent and nappy.

Dan Seese · Post by **Dan Seese** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 12:22 pm

Hi Vance,
Glad to hear that you did it successfully with a soft brush. It would be nice to see the end product if possible. Domed letters with a texture sounds really interesting.
For myself, I like to spray the size whenever possible. It takes some practice and care to avoid puddling and sometimes I need to take a brush to lap up any puddles or runs that may have formed, but overall I've been pleased with the results of spraying size on dimensional letters.
Similar to what Danny refers to, I like a mixture of 3 hour size and 12 hour size. Depending on the time of day, it sometimes works to spray in the afternoon and then begin gilding first thing in the morning. In that situation, I usually will use straight slow size. Particularly here in dry Colorado, it gives me a very wide window in which to do my gilding and when I leave it overnight, I'm not tempted to jump on it too soon. (Though I've made this mistake more often than I would like to admit.)

Dan