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gold leaf in booklet help please?
Hello to all gold leaf freaks,
My name is Ingrid and I’m living in Italy. I’m doing some sign writing on glass with real gold leaf. Normally I’m using real gold leaf 22kt, 25 leafs (9cm x 9cm) in a booklet and for the background black paint.
Now I’ve three questions and hopefully you can help me by answering it.Q1
Is there still some one who is using gold leaf in booklet?Q2
I saw on eBay that they offer gold leaf in booklet for ridiculously prices. What should I think of that?Q3
I like to have your opinions about the advantage and the disadvantage
of gold leaf in booklet and gold leaf in vinyl.😕
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21 Replies
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Hi Metalla
Good to have you make your first post
Welcome aboard 😀
Yes there are still quite a few here who use gold leaf (Italian, German and English)
I trust you are using loose leaf for glassI haven’t seen ebay for gold leaf but there are few reputable suppliers around – one being Handovers and the other being Wrights
I don’t think you can beat genuine gold leaf on glass when it has been burnished to a high sheen. Metallic gold vinyl doesn’t come anywhere near it for class and prestige
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as john has said, wrights of lymm or handovers for leaf… i bought mine from handovers, but wrights seem to have a great range of other products too.. bought my three bit mahl stick and brushes from there… 😀
i dont know much as way of advice on traditional methods so ill bow out of this now. 😳 :lol1: :lol1:
great to see you on the boards mr signh. 😉
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Hello Ingrid.
I know some folks who have bought gold leaf from eBay and they say that the leaves are much smaller than in the standard pack.
So it may not be such a great bargain.
If I were you I would try Wright’s or Handovers.
Love…..Jill -
Its good to be chatting again Rob
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Hi Metalla, try http://www.goldleafsupplies.co.uk or as others have suggested Wrights of Lymm or Habberley Meadows.
I also advise loose leaf on glass.
Neil
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😳 Oops, what a warm welcome….
Yes, indeed I use loose gold leaf, I’m sorry for my English job jargon and for late responding. Some problems with my profile.
I’m using Italian gold leaf but even if the size of the Thai loose leaf is smaller than the standard, the prices on eBay are much lower. But to be honest I don’t trust it. Will it be real gold, will it be the real karat as the say
(?) (?)
Any of you has ever bought gold leaf from Thailand???
Ingrid
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hi Ingrid and welcome to the boards.yep as others have said wrights of lymm are a good supplier . Ive used James laird and co Glasgow in the past also a good service
Regards brian
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It might be OK
But then it might notOnly way of knowing its quality is to try a bit
There is gold slag which is very cheap but its impure
It quickly tarnishes when exposed to the elements
When I mean quickly tarnishes I mean quickly!If using slag outside (I would never do) you have to immediately lacquer it
I’m not sure of Thai prices when it comes to gold but our gold leaf prices fluctuate according to gold bullion prices
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Just a thought here,
I always shop for the best deal on any of the materials that I use. That said, I will never use a poor quality material just to save a dollar…..it’s not my dollar anyway. It’s my customer’s. He gets what he pays for!
A pack of gold (500 leafs) has gone up $75 for me in the last 2 years. That’s an increase of 15cents a leaf. I raised my prices by $1 per letter (I get 2, 3" letters from one leaf), average.
I don’t believe I’ve lost too many customers because of it.
Just a thought…………..
Joe,
Makin Chips and Havin Fun!
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Just a thought here,
I always shop for the best deal on any of the materials that I use. That said, I will never use a poor quality material just to save a dollar…..it’s not my dollar anyway. It’s my customer’s. He gets what he pays for!
A pack of gold (500 leafs) has gone up $75 for me in the last 2 years. That’s an increase of 15cents a leaf. I raised my prices by $1 per letter (I get 2, 3" letters from one leaf), average.
I don’t believe I’ve lost too many customers because of it.
Just a thought…………..
Joe,
Makin Chips and Havin Fun!
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Like Joe, Gold Leaf is always ordered by my ‘prestige customers’ so I wouldn’t dream of skimping or trying to save a few pence……..had gold supplied to me recently that was bought on Ebay, not sure if it was Thai gold though. The FBI or Scotland Yard would have had no problem tracing who had handled it though…..the sheets were peppered with greasy fingerprints, you wont see that they are there until you use the gold.
They ended up unuseable. The leaf should never be touched by hand as the cleanest hand will leave a residue.
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BTW ………..John what do you use to lacquer the slag, which I presume is Dutch Gold?
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quote joe cieslowski:Just a thought here,
I always shop for the best deal on any of the materials that I use. That said, I will never use a poor quality material just to save a dollar…..it’s not my dollar anyway. It’s my customer’s. He gets what he pays for!
A pack of gold (500 leafs) has gone up $75 for me in the last 2 years. That’s an increase of 15cents a leaf. I raised my prices by $1 per letter (I get 2, 3″ letters from one leaf), average.
I don’t believe I’ve lost too many customers because of it.
Just a thought…………..
Joe,
Makin Chips and Havin Fun!
Hello Joe,
I completly agree with you that the customer gets what he pays for. And I like to say to the customer that he had a signwriting in real "pure" gold and the best material quality.
But a good craftsman (craftslady!!!) should also be up to dated with the offers on the market, thats why I came with the question on thai gold.Anyway the prices I have calculated in cm2 is the same from Antichit@belsito (I) as from Wrights of Lymm. The thai gold is 30% cheaper.
Joe, if you work on the reverse side of the glass do you applicate two times the leafs before painting the whole glass black? That’s what my old craftsman-teacher learned me.
Thank you for answer.
Cheers
Ingrid -
quote Harry Cleary:BTW ………..John what do you use to lacquer the slag, which I presume is Dutch Gold?
Hello Harry,
I’ve never used slag gold but I always protect my work/letters with yacht varnish and when it’s almost dry I dab it with gold-powder.
Cheers
Ingrid -
If I were to use slag I would coat it with frog juice
Slag comes in much bigger sheets and can be used successfully indoors for large areas
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and as Metalla says Yacht Varnish would do the job as well
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quote John Singh:If I were to use slag I would coat it with frog juice
Slag comes in much bigger sheets and can be used successfully indoors for large areas
Hello John,
Please can you tell me what you mean with "frog juice", for me it’s a healthy drink?
Cheers
Ingrid -
Hi Ingrid
Whatever you do with it – don’t drink it! :police2: 😀
Its Propylene Glycol and Methyl Ethyl Acetate
The supplier in this country is Victory Design
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Ingrid,
I only have experience with surface gilding. I do believe however, that you can’t apply a second leaf of gold over another without applying another coating of size. Kind of redundant……..sorry I really can’t help with your question.
But you might enjoy watching this video on making gold leaf…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIfZfXWw4sw
Joe,
makin Chips and Havin Fun!
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Hi Ingrid,
Like your old craftsman friend I would double gild, when using loose leaf on glass – gives a better shine, just dont make your size too strong,
I used Indian gold leaf a few years ago for a stingy client who supplied,
I t was gold al’right, but every sheet was a different hue! no quality control!
I would go for the certified leaf every time.
cheers
mike -
Hello back again,
I’m busy with making an album with all the photo’s of my works (leaded-glass, sand blowing glass and signwriting) in it. But I was wondering what will be the best method for sizing gold leaf on paper 200 gr, just want to make a pass-par-tout . Someone can give me some advice?
Cheers
Ingrid
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