Leo's Smart Gold

[SellersSign&Design]

I was asked to change some truck numbers on a fire truck. I looked over the pictures I was sent and determined the existing material was Leo's Smart Gold. When I sent my quote the customer agreed that the truck had been lettered in Smart Gold 10-15 years ago. So I showed up to do the job and noticed my material looked slightly different than what was on the truck. What I have has much coarser spins in it. So for those who have been using this material longer than me... I know it is made by hand but is it normal for it to vary this much from roll to roll? I know Leo's makes a version of the Smart Gold with real 23 karat gold, but I was told it was around $1600 for 25 feet so I'm assuming it isn't a popular option.

 

[Mike Paul]

15 years is a long time. Some spin with cotton, some with cotton wrapped in velvet.
I prefer the velvet.

I'm sure they improved the process over the years.
Gold differs in color shades too.

 

[SellersSign&Design]

15 years is a long time. Some spin with cotton, some with cotton wrapped in velvet. I prefer the velvet. I'm sure they improved the process over the years. Gold differs in color shades too.

I spin with velvet for all of my real gold work also. This just looks like two completely different materials to me. I may just try to give Leo a call tomorrow and see what he says.

 

[Mike Paul]

Never purchased from them but I did checkout the site a few years back and believe they offer a couple different grades of gold...

 

[SellersSign&Design]

Never purchased from them but I did checkout the site a few years back and believe they offer a couple different grades of gold...

He has since sold his company to Paul Conway, but he still makes the materials. He told me that there are two options, the Smart Gold which is made with imitation gold leaf and then there is a version that is made with real 23 karat gold. But he said that the real gold material makes up less than 10 percent of his sales over the years, I'm guessing due to the fact that it is well over $1,000 for 25 feet of it. I really don't think the existing material on these trucks was the real gold version, which is why I was wanting to see if people that have been using this material for a while have noticed any changes in it.

 

[Mike Paul]

The real Gold wouldn't lose it's color but the imitation definitely will bleach out to silver.

 

[jfiscus]

Leo's Smart Gold is made with Brass and it DOES change over time. I have seen it turn green on a lot of trucks myself.