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Using hardener will speed up the time you must wait for the size to reach tack. This works especially well when used on-site, outdoors in humid weather. But, be careful & don't add too much. A drop or 2 may be all that's needed. Any more and it might set before you finish cleaning your brush. Make a test strip and determine which amount & time-frame works best for you.
From the article: "Mix 1Shot gold size with hardner and a few drops of white." I know Alan pretty much sticks with 1Shot products, so I assume it's the 1Shot hardner.
He also says, "1Shot size is user friendly; there is no hurry to get the gold on before it dries, so take your time."
Then, "Apply gold to the size by gently rubbing the back of the paper, followed by lightly tapping the gold with the palm of your hand to ensure that all of the holidays are covered."
I know Bruce Devoe uses the same tapping method but I don't think he uses the hardner.
Joe,
I am going to make a guess here on the reason Alan uses hardener.
Bill Beckner from Canonsburg mentioned that he uses hardener in his gold size when he does gilding on fire trucks. I am not sure what kind of hardener but the size is One Shot's. The reason is, the hardener permanently sets the size and creates a bridge for the automotive clear overcoat & that, too, contains hardeners & aggressive solvents. If the hardener is not used in the size, the clear, when applied will attack the size under the gold & consequently ruin the job.
Maybe Alan or Bill can confirm this.
Jeff
Jeff Lang
Olde Lang Signs
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
412-732-9999
After burnishing the gold....he brushes on a coat of 1 Shot clear with 10 percent hardner and then airbrushed a transparent blue to the bottom of the letters. "Working 'wet on wet' melts the airbrush colors into the clear, leaving a level, glossy surface."
Since this is an automotive application, I'm sure the reason for the hardener is to toughen the size and make it compatable with the clears used on top of the gold job. Plus you can get on it faster with the gild.
Since Alan spun the gold, he needed an aggressive size base under it also.
This allows you to engine turn it with better results because the size underneath is not as soft.
On signs, you usually want a high luster gild with no clearcoating. Using slow size and waiting as long as possible before laying the gold produces that result.
I can't answer for Alan or why he uses the hardner in the size. As far as the auto urethane clears attacking the size I've never seen it. I've done a number of gold leaf jobs on fire trucks and race cars. I've brushed on and sprayed on auto urethane clears. I've never seen them attack the size. A lot of the race car stuff was with composition leaf and we all know how holidays and that stuff go together. If there was a chance for the urethane to attack it, there would be the case.
These guys may be adding the hardner as a precaution as I have heard so many times guys say they add hardner to One Shot to make it possible to be cleared over. Adding hardner to O.S. will not guarantee the O.S. won't lift. It won't hurt, but it's not necessary. Same deal with the size. Now adding hardner to size will probably affect the window you have to work with and may like Mark alluded to, make it safer to spin the gold.
I have though used hardner in auto urethane clear for a size in repairs....talk about quick size....man don't blink
I can't answer for AJ either, but I can tell you I add 4007 Hardener to my 1Shot size from time to time.
The majority of my gilding is on custom paint applications, that will be top-coated with an automotive clear. (When we're clearing the job in-house, we use PPG high-solids clears)
I will add a few drops of hardener to my size, when the job is being cleared by someone other than myself. I know what "a first dry coat" means. I can't always depend on the shop I'm contracting to, to make that judgement call. The hardener in the size builds in a little margin of error, as it has forced the size to cure faster.
The minus side to that, I've found, is the decreased window for gilding. If I'm going to clear the job in house, I don't add hardener, and allow at least 24 hours before clearing. It's basically the same way I handle striping and lettering with 1Shot that's to be cleared.
And there's my first two cents on this board.
Keep on keepin' on,
Brian
Brian "The Brush" Briskie
AutoGraph Customs
Cocoanut Jam Sign and Design
Adams Basin .
CustomClipArt.net
Yes, you're all right ! Sorry I did'nt respond till now, I've been on a coast to coast road trip for the past 6 weeks. But Joe,you know me,I don't wait well! " Maintain " AJ
I heard rumours about people adding hardener to gold size when your going to clear it. I know that size stays wet underneath the gold for a while, so it makes sense... I have lifted gold before with urathane clear. Also what I found interesting and I frist saw Cam Bortz do it was mixing slow and fast size together to get a 3 hour size. I did it once with a bunch of Gemini letters with great results it also stayed open for about 3 hours.
Denver Chapter of the Letterheads