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Need help from the tradional pros please
Hi folks
I need some help from the traditional artists here…
I have a customer, (big one & good payer) that wants one of his new pubs
Done in a sort of traditional method.
Basically it looks like glass with gold leaf applied to rear making up the text.
It has a black background.
The glass face and gold leaf make this letters stand out very well. Creates a brilliant shine to them against the black background.
The surrounds/border looks to be a wooden mould painted black.Anyway, that’s the sign he showed me and wants his to look similar.
What I need to know is:
Is it glass or a clear acrylic?
Is it definitely gold leaf and not a mirror foil?
Has the background (black) been painted onto the rear of glass to seal the leaf/foil or is it laid against a black wood?
If it is paint, what type & is it applied with a roller?My guess is it is paint, because I thought if I have a space between the glass and wood it would condensate?
Also, what is the best way to frame this if it is glass?
A wooden mould with a rebate to shelf the glass?Last one, if I use gold leaf on the reverse of the glass. Will the leafe still be as bright viewed on the face because it is shining through the gold size? Or is there a different type of size needed? (Hope that made sense)
Thanks for any advice on this folks. Never done anything like this and would like to give it a go, (if I he goes ahead with the price that is)
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4 Replies
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Glass gilding is normally done by painting a black outline of the letter/logo on the inside of the glass and when dry applying loose leaf gold leaf cut into pieces on a gilders cusion and applied with a gilder’s tip and water size. Obviously the leaf can not be cut to exact letter shape therefor the black outline to start with, this is then backed up with solid colour when dry. On first application the leaf will look very creased but will smooth out within a day or two. The job cannot be hurried and is a completely different discipline to tranfer gold leaf which is a doddle to do in comparison, craftsmen who did/do it all the time were surprisingly quick.
Alan -
Rob, this would be a great job to sub out to a good glass gilder on the boards.
You can watch and learn, and split the profits.
Glass gilding is not for the newbie.
It is a very specialized skill.
Even the materials needed are getting hard to find…Bon-Ami Cake, a Gilder’s Tip, Gelatin capsules, loose leaf for on glass, and the varnishes needed to back it up.
I only did it once and it was REALLY tricky.
I’m not saying that you can’t do it, I’m suggesting that you enlist the aid of someone who can mentor you thru the process.
I know that you’re a fast learner and capable of many things.
Love…Jill -
Hi Rob,
I specialise in this type of work and have 30 years experience in reverse glass gilding, as Jillbeans says the work is very exacting.
If you e-mail me details I will work out a ‘trade’ price for the job.Brian
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Hi Rob
The process is, as described by the previous posts, a fiddly and tricky one
Best left to the expertsHave a crack yourself one day (actually the process carries over several days even if you were doing just one letter!!)
It is funOh! And you simply can’t beat the brilliance of loose leaf when burnished
I tend to leave this sort of work to Arthur who’s in his seventies. He’s got more patience than me.
John
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