Gilded Letter Protection

[knucklehead]

I've been volunteered to make my wife's friend an aluminum show sign to take to her pottery shows. Been requested to gold leaf (23k) her name at the bottom, only thirteen letters, about an inch, to inch and a half high. The panel is NOT going to be cleared, but I want to put some kind of protection on the letters. What would be best, a couple coats of slow size, one shot clear, or another.

I don't think it will be handled much, but loading, and unloading, curious hands at the shows, etc. Since it's being non-cleared, I'd feel better with some kind of protective topcoat.

Thanks

 

[Kottwitz-Graphics]

To be honest, if it is a flat sign, I would just use SignGold. Just clear around the letters with a seal it pen. I am a newby at gilding, but from what I am seeing, gilded gold looks better if it has some dimension to it. Plus it would be so much faster than gilding the letters that will end up getting beat up from transporting

 

[Gino]

Ideally, you would clear the entire sign. Then it would look uniform. If not, make a small area cut-out from paper or cardboard and spray some frog juice on the name area with your cut out protecting the outer areas... a little at a time. Be careful not to get overspray on the rest of the sign.

 

[Billct2]

Use a mask. I would outline the letters, so the mask would have the letters, the outline and then another outline.
Weed only the letters and apply to the panel. Size. Pull the ouline mask. Gild when ready. Letter the outline, pull the second outline. When the ouline & gild are cured apply the clear. There are several to choose from, Frog Juice, Spar Varnish, 1shot clear etc. After applying the clear pull the rest of the mask.

 

[knucklehead]

Thanks for the replies. If one shot clear works, I think I'll use it, my can of frog juice hasn't been opened in years, so it's probably kinda solid?.

Kottwitz, that would be ideal, if I had any. I'm not ordering 100 bucks worth of SG just to use about 10 square inches, and they don't send the Roland graphics books with it any more. Plus, this a free sign for the wife to give, and I don't want to put anything into materials, just using what I got.

Thanks

 

[Stanton]

Coating gold makes me cringe.


Use shinny mirror finish gold Mylar film and carefully burnish it along the letter strokes
with FINE steel wool. Just enough to make it catch the light.

Fake it, they will never know the difference.

Or - top it with clear Krylon :Big Laugh

 

[TammieH]

Coating gold makes me cringe.

+1

You will kill the brilliance of the leaf if you put any sort of clear over it

Might as well not use gold leaf at all...use Sign Gold or similar, ie. Mylar




I suppose if you can live with yourself for clear coating gold leaf then by all means go ahead

 

[Billct2]

It still looks like good leaf, gold leaf that has been cleared, but still gold leaf. Have you never done boat or truck lettering with gold? It is always cleared

 

[artbot]

ceramic air dry coating. i bought a sample of some and found it to be the hardest most invisible coating. it has no detectable thickness and doesn't kill the flash of metals like a coating. can't find the supplier for the one i tested, but the product is much like this one:
http://www.autogeek.net/cquartz-paint-sealant.html

but do not smell it. it will knock you out. seriously. it's MEK x's 1000.

 

[knucklehead]

Yep, boat, vehicles, motorcycles, always have/should have, the gold buried in clear. Wouldn't last otherwise.

Anyway, I guess this little project is headed south pretty fast. This ladies husband told my wife they don't need the panel, don't want the panel, and don't have anywhere to put the panel in their booth at the craft shows. A 18x24 aluminum panel?? But, he's a cabinet maker, and has a routed wood sign, nothin special just the name routed, and painted inside. I guess he came across pretty snotty to the wife, she just ask about putting a phone number on the panel. OK, no problem.

Thanks for all the input, and Kottwitz for offering to cut me a piece of SignGold. I actually found a small piece in a box. Far as I can tell, don't need it now.

Hope everyone has a Happy Christmas, and a SAFE Holiday Season.

Mike

 

[TammieH]

It still looks like good leaf, gold leaf that has been cleared, but still gold leaf. Have you never done boat or truck lettering with gold? It is always cleared