HDU and Gold Hearing clinic sign

Here's one I just finished up. It's 14 feet long with 25 letters. The sign is made of 1" HDU (Corafoam) that I bonded to an Alupanel backer. It took 4 books of gold. (There are 25 3.25 x 3.25 sheets of gold in a book)
I learned to use loose gold on this project. The thing that held me back from using loose gold in the past was that I didn't know how to cut the gold. Now that I have learned the technique, I can't see me going back to transfer leaf. Loose gold is very fast once you get the knack. I cut the gold right in the book with a "pinky knife" made from a piece of a beer can. Then I pick up the cut piece with a gilders tip and lay it on the size. After all the gold is in place I tamp it down with a makeup brush. The first makeup brush I used was too firm and scratched the gold but the one I have now gives it a really nice shine. Hope you like.

Oh, I'm planning on putting the sign up on Wednesday....it's supposed to be plus 1 or 2 that day. I'll post a pic once it's up.

 

Thanks gg. It took about 3 hours to lay the gold. I did it in sections over a day because I wasn't sure how long it would take me with interuptions etc. and I wanted to be sure the size would stay "open" long enough to do the whole job. (I used one shot fast size.)
The sign says "WOLFVILLE HEARING CLINIC LTD."

 

Here's a pic of the beer can "pinky knife". The correct material for this knife comes from "Labatts Blue" beer cans BTW.

 

That was a constant concern! I rub the gilders tip on the side of my nose and it wouldn't take much to get the sequence wrong. Incidently....I'm quite willing to send out empty Labatts Blue cans to any members who want to make their own pinky knives.... only $9.95 plus postage and handling.

 

Here is a link to where I learned how to cut and apply loose gold. http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=CJFRAMES#p/u/12/67LM4Iovll4
(He starts cutting the gold towards the end of the video) It's a real pleasure to watch a master at work.

 

I'm guessing you didn't watch the video Si. The pinky cutter is very fast and convenient. You hold the book in your left hand and the pinky knife is on your right hand along with the gilders tip. You flip open a page with your left hand, slice the gold into however many pieces you want and pick them up with the tip. I didn't have any trouble cutting the sheets without tearing them. I was able to cut 3/16" wide strips then slice them into short sections with no difficulty. Mostly I cut the sheets into 4 strips because of the size of my letters.....very little waste.

 

Thanks Jill.....who's "Old Jordo"?

 

Who has the best location? This time of year?! GP, you fly me down to South Carolina and I'll show you how to gild!

 

Well....here's the done deal. It's a pretty modest design but I think it suits the storefront. What a great day for an install...... +5 and sunny.