Gilding of door panels

[erik winkler]

I hope you could help me with some advise.

A potential client asked me to gild a lot of doors with ornamental scrolls they designed.
First I was thinking of making vinyl-cut masks, paint in the size, remove the vinyl, let the size come to tack and then gild.
Afterwords they will take the panels, put them back in the doorsystem and coat it with polyurethane.
But when I asked if the panels alone would be completely flat I suggested that it would be better to screenprint the size on to them instead of painting.
I think I should go for 12 or 24 hour size, so that the opening time for 10 large panels is possible to do in one run...
Do you have any other ideas to tackle this?
I know thinning the size would give me extra problems, but which size do you recommend?

Thanks,
Erik

[Danny Baronian]

Depending on the detail of the art, have you considered a paint mask? With instructions under the current topic of paint masks, that would be my first choice.

Apply the mask, roll size on w/ a foam roller and note the time. Make a seperate mask with several 2" squares and apply to a similar wood panel and size in the same manner, marking the time. When you think the size is right, peel the mask on the 2" square, depending on how the size reacts will tell you the correct time to remove the mask, giving a crisp edge.

For screen printing I'd probably use a clear screen printing ink. Using gold size it wouldn't be a matter of thinning the size, it would involve adding a thickening agent as the size is more viscous than screen ink, and would tend to bleed.

Do the doors have a finish on them? if they are raw wood, the size will bleed beyond the image area. The wood generally needs a clear coat seal to produce crisp edges for either screen printing or masks.

Danny

[erik winkler]

Danny,

The panels are precoated with a polyurethane clear which is lightly sanded prior to be sended to me.
Making masks for lots of big panels, might turn out as a costly way of doing them.
That is why I thought of screen printing the size on, but I have never heard of anyone using this technique and what elements I should think about doing it this way...
After I am done gilding the panels the woodworkers will coat the panels again with polyurethane.

[vance galliher]

......"size is more viscous than screen ink..." Didn't you mean to say " less viscous" Danny ? And I have use the screening ink method with success

[Danny Baronian]

....yes.

Thanks,

Danny