I've sold a v-carved sign job to a client (you'll never guess who). Normally, I've been using slow size for gilding. I'm curious about Instacol.
I understand that it creates a very brilliant finish. Would that be too much for an exterior sign? I'm concerned about legibility. The overall size of the sign is 96"x44" and the letters will be about 9" tall.
Any observations and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
[ November 13, 2001: Message edited by: Glenn Taylor ]
Posted by SteinS (Member # 430) on :
I dont know the brand Instacol
But I have used water based size for many years. The one I use is white in bottle and dries transparent in a few minutes.
Gold gets very shiny, and it last outdoors for years and years.
I use it on carved signs. I pant the wood with matte oil and size with water size.
I like to have the background of gildings matte, thus the shiny paint wont "compete" with the gold.
Glenn, I've used Instacol on finials and borders, it really shines, almost like a plated gold rather than a gild. I think I would avoid using it on letters unless its a situation where legibility is not a concern, as on a sign with only four large letters on it. I think you would sacrifice some legibility, so if theres any question I would stick with regular size
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
Ditto....it would be too bright and difficult to read. Borders and decorations work well with it. Use the slow oil size.
Posted by Joe Cieslowski (Member # 2429) on :
Glen, The question of gilded letters "flashing" has always bothered me. I have seen many fine gilded signs loose their readability during certain times of the day or when they are lit at night. I spoke with Paul White several years ago and he made a simple observation that the shallower carved "V" letter lets in more light and therefore reflects more light and conversely a deep "V" lets in less light and therefore reflects less light. Carve the same letter at three diffrent angles in a piece of scrap and apply your brightest gild. You won't believe the diffrence between them! What I do now is for a sign that faces south, or in the case of a 2 sided sign, the south side, Icarve the letters deeper and for the north facing side, I carve them shallower. You can decrease the Flashing of gilded signs which are lit at night by carving a deeper "V" or by changing the distance of the light source from the sign, therefore changing the angle of the light, reducing the "flash". This could be a simple solution to your problem. I havn't had time to research what angles for the "V" in relation to the angle of light works best but with a little experimentation I think you you can quickly come up with a system that works for you. Havin some fun and Makin Chips, Joe Here I am wearin my sun glasses 'cause the gild is too bright!
Posted by SteinS (Member # 430) on :
As I see it, any good gild is shiny, its the nature of gold to shine. When a oil size is used in the period where the "window" is about to close, gold gets very shiny. Laying it down to early is a very common mistake. The gold will "drown" in the size and become matte.
However, it is a lot easier to get a good gild with acrylsize then oilsize or gelatin. Thats why I openly recommend it to beginners and those who want to get the work done within normal hours and with few problems.
To adjust designs so they are fit for gilding, first thing to consider is using a lot less gold. Less is better. Big fat letter in just gold is ugly. Use gold as a shadow, outline or in details. And make it S H I N E
(shining saves electricity!, its spot and readable at distance!)
Here I am wearin my sun glasses 'cause the gild is too bright!