That's about the extent of my knowlege of smalts. I know its colored sand or glass and I've read a couple of articles on how to apply it. My question is how much coverage do you get?
I want to try the stuff because I really like the look of it. The two signs I've got are 18" x 24" redwood, double sided, with raised letters. I want to do the backgrounds with black smalts. Do you think 5 pounds is gonna be enough? Like I said, I've never done it and don't even have an idea how big a five pound bag is.
Thanks.
[ December 11, 2003, 11:41 AM: Message edited by: Patrick Whatley ]
-------------------- Pat Whatley Montgomery, AL (334) 262-7446 office (334) 324-8465 cell Posts: 1306 | From: Wetumpka, AL USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Hey Pat, I use "Black beauty" sandblasting sand, you can get it at indusrtial supply or auto body supply, a 100 lbs. bag goes for about 25 bucks. id say 100 lbs would do about 40-50 of those 18 x 24 signs.
-------------------- Ken McTague, Concept Signs 57 Bridge St. (route 107) Salem MA 01970 1-978-745-5800 conceptsign@yahoo.com http://www.pinheadlounge.com/CaptainKen
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"A wise man once said that, or was it a wise guy?" Posts: 2425 | From: Salem, MA | Registered: Apr 1999
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Black beauty will rust. I use to use it for my sandblasting. I blasted a HDU sign with it and then painted the background white. A few months later rust stains began appearing all over the sign. It was the black beauty that had impregnated itself into the foam that did it.
-------------------- Bob Stephens Skywatch Signs Zephyrhills, FL
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Black Beauty rusts??? That's news to all of us that have been using it for black smalt for the last however many years. That said, BB is ground-up coal slag, and is not always consistent in composition; it's possible Bob had a batch with a high iron content. I bought a 90lb bag about eight years ago and its gone a lo-o-o-ong way - I just used some today.
To answer Pat's question, a coupla pounds of black smalt from Letterhead Sign Supply (merchants here) will be more than enough.
-------------------- "A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle
Cam Bortz Finest Kind Signs Pondside Iron works 256 S. Broad St. Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379 "Award winning Signs since 1988" Posts: 3051 | From: Pawcatuck,Connecticut USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Thanks for the help. I'm gonna order a five pound bag since the stuff is relatively cheap and I'm bound to spill half of it in the driveway anyway.
I'm glad I asked, I was originally thinking I'd need to buy a five gallon bucket full.
-------------------- Pat Whatley Montgomery, AL (334) 262-7446 office (334) 324-8465 cell Posts: 1306 | From: Wetumpka, AL USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Hi Folks hopefully this will be helpful coutesy of our dear friend the late Rick Glawson and my husband Pete Payne OSmalting Following is a article written by Mr Rick Glawson for a trade publication in 1999 I have added a few little insights and they will be in brackets and italicised.
OSMALTO A background with history worth repeating. Osmalto, or smalt for short, has a technical defination ofd being crushed or powdered glass enamel, primarily blue, and has it’s roots in the jewellery trade. In cloisonne work, it was applied to surface designs sections off by thin strips of metal and fired in akiln until melted. You often see small trinket boxes decorated in this manner. The popular use in our trade began in the mid 1870's coinciding with the birth of carved wooden letters. For maximum durability and visibility, these letters were without doubt gold leafed, and projected their own elegance. Requiring a worthy background, it helps to understand the nature and practice of sign construction during this era. Plywood was not yet invented so if the customer desired a mid-ranged sign, you nailed up a wooden framework and covered it with a tin face. This gave you a smooth working surface and required a minimum of cost. For the highest quality and weather resistance of sign boards, wooden planks were dowelled together and to prevent any seams or cracks showing, duck canvas was varnish affixed to the surface. After initial sealing and priming, it would be wasted effort to build up it’s rough texture, and if accomplished, wouldn’t appear any nicer than it’s cheaper tin covered counterpart. There was considerable cost involves in hand carved and gilded letters, so longevity was the main factor. The use of coloured glass smalt was a natural conclusion. It not only disguised the rough canvas with minimum effort, it imparted an elegant glassy texture with durability and fade resistance bar none. I have seen existing exterior examples on the east coast still attractive after a century of use. Longevity aside, it’s a simple solution to the coarse or boring. The era of beautifully grained sandblasted wood signs seems to giving way to prismatic letter faced, computer routed urethane panels with perfectly smooth backgrounds just screaming for attention. Smalt is divided into two categories, glass and sand. The latter is simply the beach variety traditionally coated with Japan Colours, (See atkinson’s Sign Painting or Gold Leaf Techniques 4th edition). It has a nice dull to satin sheen but because of it’s paint finish, it is best reserved for interior use. Although not readily available in it’s original supply form, there is an extremely durable epoxy coated version manufactured by the Clifford W. Estes Co. an original maker of smalts in the last century referred to a s masonry aggregatr and available in many colours. (We at Canadian Signcrafters have access to this product). The most commonly used is glass, for it’s shiny appearance and light fastness in exterior use. The most widely used is of coffee ground size and comes in a large range of colours from shiny jet black and ruby red to cobalt blue and dark green. Being most always used with gilded graphics, the darkest colours are preferred for maximum contrast. In order to attach the smalts to a surface a SMALT PAINT is required. Although many materials have been used in recent years with varied results, keep in mind that merely sticking them to the surface will give you bald spots with just short service. They must sink into the adhesive a third to one half of their thickness to be permanently adhered. There is also the matter of open time when dealing with larger signs. The original recipe was to take a keg of white lead (which was of paste thickness), break it down with additional linseed oil to a brushing consistency and add some colour to it to closely match the smalt. In keeping with its character, our modern method is to use half & 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. (Also Available from us), Jacks Cream by Ronan and Jones Cream by Akzo are the brand 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 overnite. Some craftsmen use a product called Hold Fast Oil. (This is one of the products we have here and have had very good success using it ourself with the open time being adequate for any project we have encountered. Mixing ratio is slightly different than the above 50/50 ratio, it is recommended to mix 1/3 alkyd colour 1 Shot Lettering enamel to 2/3 Holdfast Glue or “Honey as some call it probably because of its colour and consistency.) For Application, first prepare a Smalting Can by taking a coffee container and perforating the bottom overall with 1/8" holes or slightly larger using an awl or hammer and nail. Cover the bottom on the outside with pasteboard and fill the can. When the board is removed you are able to evenly shake and distribute the smalt evenly. This type of background isn’t limited to raised letters or routed recesses but is just as handsome with flat surface gilded inscriptions. Lay your panel flat on a horizontal bench or saw horses. With recessed or flat gilded work apply the paint thickly, brushing from dry to wet where you can until evenly covered. On a larger or very long panels you can paint in a certain distance, say a third of the area or so, apply the smalt heavily and evenly to within 8 to 10 inches of the wet end, and continue with the paint where you left off. Your own judgement will dictate how much you do at once. As a rough rule of thumb, one pound of smalt will cover 1-1/2 to two sqare feet of area. You needn’t wait until you’ve completely covered the sign with smalt before you dump off the excess. If you’ve completely covered the sign with smalt before you dump off the excess. If you’re running short of the cheaper material (black glass or sand) or using the much more expensive coloured glass, periodically flip the panel over rapidly with a tarp on the floor. This catches the excess which you reuse and extend your coverage to approximately three square feet per pound. When you have completed the panel and dumped the excess, set it back flat on your supports and let it dry overnight. I’ve found that the inscription always looks crisper if you allow a painted outline on all the gold work whether flat or raised. A ragged effect will appear if you don’t. This is especially true when you have separated raised letters that you attach afterwards. In this case, position the letters and scribe around each one. Paint in the letter with it’s outline plus a little and let it dry. Use straight enamel without the cream for this. For faster paint application, cut out some vinyl masks with each the shape of the letter with it’s outline, and plant the, on the panel. Somewhere in the centre of each, cut and tear up a pull tab. This way you can quickly and sloppily apply the smalt paint onto the background and over the mask edges. Before you start shaking on the smalt, pull off the mask and your result is an even paint layer with sharp edges. After dumping and drying attach your letters and you are finished. As an interesting note I have seen smalt applied to the back of hanging wood and glass signs that I can only guess was to discourage the habit of people jumping up and smacking the signs. It’s much like attacking some 50 grit sandpaper. I’ll close with a paragraph from the 1910 book “The Expert Signpainter” by A. Ashmun Kelly, Novel Smalted Sign- Paint in the letters on a suitably grounded board, and sift on clean sea sand. When dry, coat over with gold size, allowing the size to go a little beyond the lettering, and useing a slow size. When the size has the right tack lay deep gold leaf on. In two days cut in with a deep glossy chrome green paint, and smalt this with green smalt. If some red smalt is added to the green you will get a very beautiful affect, but care must be had to keep the red well mixed with the green, as it is heavier than the green, and is liable to fall to the bottom.
Borrowed with many, many Thanks from Mr. Rick Glawson & St Magazine.
Smalt Use For Background Average Coverage 1-1/2 to 2 Square feet per Pound
Shiney Black Smalt F-1 5.89 Per Lb Not Black Beauty -this is a product that is left over from mining & producing Copper.
German Glass Smalt K-105 F-1 Silver Blue Glass Smalts 1Lb 39.00 R-141 New Red F.1 Glass Smalts 1 Lb 36.95 R-33 Dark Green Glass Smalts 1 Lb 34.65 K-41 Mountain Blue Glass Smalts 1 Lb 30.45
Holdfast Smalts Glue "Honey" Quart 14.35 Used to adhere smalt to a substrate. Must be tinted with 1/3 alkyd colour 1 Shot Lettering enamel works well. All Pricing in Canadian Funds
-------------------- Pete Payne Willowlake Design/Canadian Signcrafters Bayfield, ON
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