Glass gilding questions

[bob gamache]

Hi everyone. I'm Bob Gamache, a New Jersey Sign painter

I'm doing a small glass gilding job in NYC. The client supplied me with the logo art and strick size specs.
Some of the lettering is only a 1/2" high. It's a straight burnished job, no frills, no outline, no shadow.
Do you guys think I should 'back up' this lettering using a silk-screen?
It's gotta be super tight. Any suggestions or thoughts?

thanks!

[Doug Bernhardt]

Welcome aboard Bob.........all I can say is my eyes(and hands for that matter) aren't what they used to be and couldn't imagine doing something as tight as this sounds otherwise(screened)......good luck on it!

[Roderick Treece]

Bob,
Screen it! Make sure you put some hardner in your back up and buy a John Jordan Gold removal brush from Ron Percell. You'll love it.

Good luck

PS Buy me a ticket and I'll come hold the screen for you.

Roderick

[Mark Summers]

The hardener that was talked about in the previous posts, is this
the 1 Shot hardener?

Mark

[Roderick Treece]

Yes , one shot

[oatis]

Bob: I have done a lot of screen backup of burnish gold. A few suggestions:

A. Make certain you have as much area around your copy image as possible. This is in anticipation of "B".
B. You want SOME off-contact, but not a lot. If you have too much "snap" of the screen off the glass, sometimes your second, or patch layers of gold will "de-laminate" from the first gild, and end up on the screen.
C. Have enough room nearby (floor or table) so you can flood your screen once, then carry it to the glass for your print.
D. As per "C"...anticipate the cleaning of the screen. If you are in an occupied building you may want to carry it into a stairwell or the alley, to avoid disapproval from those odd persons who (inexplicably) dislike solvent fumes.
E. An assistant is good to have, but not crucial. If you have a good "L" jig double-stick taped to the glass (with the upright bar of the "L" on the same end of the screen as the direction you will pull the squeegee, you will only need a couple tabs of double-stick on the screen itself, for the short time it will be against the glass. BELIEVE IT OR NOT....a second pass is possible, if your registration is good. If your print is thin or has voids you can carefully give it a second hit. Try to avoid this, though. If you get a totally unecceptable or smeared print, relax, clean the paint (gently!) off the gold with lacquer thinner and cotton, and print again. If this happens you must clean your screen before re-printing.
F. Don't forget to burn the screen in REVERSE. I once heard about some total novice (OK, Me) who made this mistake.
G. You can do your varnish via screen-print, too. Create a 1/16" fattened image of your copy, and varnish the whole job with a single pull. Assuming you have let the backup dry overnight before cleaning off the gold, you can do this the next day.
H. Post a photo of the job!

Good luck<

Mark Oatis

[bob gamache]

Oatis, Roderick, Mark, Doug - Guys, thanks so much for the advise!
It's great to know you're out there!! I thought I was alone.............

I'll give it a shot, thanks!