I took that great goldleaf class from John Jordan, and now I'm going to try it for profit.
There are several questions remaining. #1 What kind of stain would you use on cedar to give a reddish stain effect, but allow the grain of the wood to show through somewhat? #2 Is 23K goldleaf O.K., or do I need to spring for the 24K to get a good effect? and #3 Is it advisable to put some kind of clear sealer on the stain,goldleaf, or both?
Thank you for your advice!
Jennifer
Posted by Jerry VanHorn (Member # 4704) on :
This is what we do. Most of the time we paint the blasted area with one-shot. I thin it with enamel reducer and 'dust' it on in several coats with a sprayer. This still gives a flat looking stained finish. 23k gold without sealer is also how we do it. you will have a more brilliant finish without clear, I have not noticed any bad effects on signs we did as long as 12 years ago.
I hope I have helped.
Posted by Jennifer Craig (Member # 3411) on :
Thanks for the help Jerry! I sure did like the price of the 23K better, so I'm glad to hear it works well.
P.S. I took a look at your website, very cool racing stuff. That must be a lot of fun and variety!
Thanks again, Jennifer
Posted by Kissymatina (Member # 2028) on :
The general rule is clears will fail before the gold will. Unless it's somewhere people can put their greasy, slimy hands on it while asking if it's real gold, it's better to NOT clear it.
Posted by Artisan Signs (Member # 3146) on :
Jennifer, No need to ever cover gold leaf with any clear, or "sealer". The gold will not tarnish. 23k is just perfect. I have been guilding on carved, letters with latex background for years, and it has worked out very well. Call if you have any questions.
Good luck, Bob K.
Posted by Kent Smith (Member # 251) on :
First, ditto on no clear top coat.
Second, 23K is excellent except when the sign is located in an area subject to salty sea air, high mineral content water from sprinklers or from high sulfur air pollution such as near refineries or coal fired factories and generators, etc. In those applications, I prefer to use 23 3/4K which limits the changes in color of the silver and copper alloys.
Third, my favorite stain protocol is to use a transparent stain either commercial or better yet use your own mixture of pigment (oil color or enamel), solvent, linseed oil and varnish resin. Once dry, topcoat with flat Ti-Cote which is a waterborne acrylic, will not lift the color, acts as UV coat and sealer and will not pick up leaf. I will be covering this method in Detroit.
