I have a small area I wish to apply some smalts to. Will rez-n-gel work in place of the smiths creme? and if so, how thick would you mix it?
I will be using some black smalts, and black one shot.
My first attempt with smalts, so I may have a few other dumb questions to follow. Thanks
Posted by Danny Busselle (Member # 3746) on :
NO to your question but you can take Demar and Smith Cream and have a great finish. this will allow time to put the smalts on and let dry.
Posted by Tim (Member # 1699) on :
Ok, thanks Danny. I'll have to look into this further. I didnt nearly take enough notes during John Jordans gilding class at the Splash. I thought he mentioned you could use it but that smiths was better. I'll try to see if the search will find a smalts "how to" for me, then I'll have a bunch of dumber questions, lol
Posted by Kissymatina (Member # 2028) on :
I believe Canadian Signcrafters has Smith's creme.
Posted by Jonathan Androsky (Member # 2806) on :
Hi Tim, the late Rick Glawson wrote a good short and to the point article on smalt with a bit of history thrown in. You can view it over on Mike Jackson's Letterheads site: Rick's Smalt article
Also, the Percell's at Letterhead Sign Supply have Smith's Cream, Osmalto, Smalt Shakers, and tons of other fun stuff.
Posted by Tim (Member # 1699) on :
Thanks Jonathan, Vance emailed this same article to me last night and it was a good read. I guess I will have to order some smiths with my next gold order.
I have such a tiny area to do, only about 6 inches square to apply smalts to and was hoping to get by with what I had. I hate to order a big tub of stuff when I only need a teaspoons worth.
Posted by Danny Busselle (Member # 3746) on :
and half mix of (1) a lettering enamel matching the smalt (black with black, brilliant blue with cobalt, etc) and (2) a conditioning cream made for bulletin board pictorial work. Smith’s Cream by Dana, Jack’s Cream by Ronan and Jones Cream by Akzo are the brands available. Mixing the enamel & cream together 50/50 will give you the viscosity needed to fix the smalt, and the open time sufficient to easily do a twenty foot sign with its drying time just overnight. Some craftsmen use a product called Hol-Fast oil or epoxies for small areas but I’m assured the open time is minimal.
Posted by Ron Percell (Member # 399) on :
I think you could mix the Res-n-gel with one shot to thicken the paint, the driers in the one shot should be enough kick it off, but I'd stick with traditional methods when offering smalt to customers.
You can use the one shot by itself with the smalt, but does not produce the greatest texture, it leaves a few glossy areas, just make sure to let it sit for 24 hrs before dumping excess smalt off.
Smalt can be applied to almost any paint that wet and thick enough to allow the smalt to embed itself and stick, but a mixture of Smiths Cream & Oneshot work the best, Smiths cream is Clear, and the others are slightly tinted amber to brown.
Give me a call at Letterhead Sign Supply and we can help you make that sample panel, 1-800-531-3359
Good Luck, Ron
Posted by Tim (Member # 1699) on :
Thanks guys, I'm not about to mess around so I will give you a call Ron and get what I need, the right stuff.
I am just dying to get back to finishing the panel from John Jordans glass gilding at the Splash.
Posted by Kissymatina (Member # 2028) on :
Ron is so sweet & a great wealth of information. I didn't mean to slight him & Kristi, I just saw you were from Canada and figured there would be less hassels getting it from Canadian Signcrafters rather than through customs.
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
NO to your question but you can take Demar and Smith Cream and have a great finish. ![[Cool]](cool.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
and half mix of (1) a lettering enamel matching the smalt (black with black, brilliant blue with cobalt, etc) and (2) a conditioning cream made for bulletin board pictorial work. Smith’s Cream by Dana, Jack’s Cream by Ronan and Jones Cream by Akzo are the brands available. Mixing the enamel & cream together 50/50 will give you the viscosity needed to fix the smalt, and the open time sufficient to easily do a twenty foot sign with its drying time just overnight. Some craftsmen use a product called Hol-Fast oil or epoxies for small areas but I’m assured the open time is minimal.