A trip to Qatar

I know, it has been a while since posting last. I can do better.

   I was invited to work in Qatar gilding in a new construction palace last Dec and Jan. (2013-14) It was an experience I shall never forget. 16 hr flight to get there. One stop and plane change in Amsterdam. While there changing planes I bumped into my friend Tania Seabock who I knew for many years but never met in real life. She too was part of the gilding team. It is a small world!
  The working conditions were not the most ideal. Lots of dust and dirt, thousands of laborers, other trades working where we were gilding, languages of all sorts, and quite a bit of "too many chiefs", none of who talked to each other.
  My first problem here was that it seems the British use loose leaf and gilders tips for ceiling work and architectural gilding. I am very proficient with patent leaf and rolls but the gilders tip was new adventure for me. With the help of Tania and some "tips" from a few of my new British friend gilders, it only took a couple days to get the hang of it and to have enough speed to not be embarrassed.
   We were using Lefranc-Bourgeois 12 hour oil size. Not quite as good as the old size with lead, but worked just fine for what we needed. I liked it better than the Rolco Artisans size. And our gold leaf was who else but Manetti. While in Qatar, the gilding team had a meeting with Battiloro Manetti, the CEO of the company. It was quite the honor for all of us to meet him.
  I am home now in Connecticut working in my studio playing with gelatin size and silver leaf! More later.

   Something that never crossed my mind. I was about to hang a shelf in my daughters room so I got out the stud finder and started looking. Thought the battery was dead as I received no signal across the whole wall. Changed it out and still no luck. I then realized that the wall, with an aluminum leaf finish, might be the problem. So I tried the stud finder on a painted wall and it worked fine. I am not really sure exactly how the stud finder works, but it makes sense that the metal leaf could cause interference. I will remember this for that job that might require things being hung back up when doing a metal leaf wall!

Gold Leafing a ceiling

On a recent job working for a good friend, we applied 23 ct leaf on a chapel ceiling. It was approximately a little over 600 square feet. To get the finest job possible as with most finishes, the preparation is the most important step. Our first step was to get the plastered barreled ceiling as smooth as glass. First step was to patch even the smallest of defects, sand and feather so as not to even see the patches. We then sprayed shellac. 4 coats. That in itself is pretty glassy, but wanting perfection, we sanded with 400-600 grit. As you can see in the picture, we got glass! And slight neck aches. Our next step......laying out the grid.

  

Dutch Metal and Tarnish

 The pleasure of a low price soon fades away when tarnish arrives and the expense of repair is faced. Notice I said "when" tarnish arrives. Oxidation. I used to always believed that if prepped right, handled with care and sealed properly, Dutch Metal (composition metal leaf) would last a very long time before it oxidized. I have since learned that in the making of the leaf, the heat that is required starts it off before it is even handled.
  It is made mainly of copper and zinc. About 85% copper. Copper is going to tarnish. So it is important to make this clear to a client that you cannot guarantee against tarnish and that if this finish is for the long haul, real gold would be cheaper in the long run. The added cost of labor in the future for a re-do would far exceed the initial cost of gold.
  Having said this, to insure you get as long of life as possible if composite leaf is used, remember that oxidation can come from the back side too. It is just as important to have the substrate sealed as it is to seal the leaf upon finish. One should also know, that some products used as your seal/base should be allowed to cure. You may need to wait up to 14 days. Lacquers and paints off gas for a long time till cured and can be part of the problem and also start the tarnishing process.
  Bottom line, explain all possible issues that can happen with Dutch Metal and never guarantee it for life!

Seamless Application

  Have you ever looked at a gilded wall or ceiling and been able to see the "start/stop" lines? This is usually caused by gilding on all available size, then resizing by cutting in to the gild mark. It will always leave a mark or a line, (usually a thicker application at the cut mark).
  If doing a gilded ceiling with composite leaf, using a waterbase size such as Rolco Aqua size works fine. In my experience the best way to apply this size is to spray it. Do the whole ceiling at once. This way any start/stop lines will not happen and spraying allows for the smoothest application.
  If doing walls or ceilings using real gold, oil size is my choice. First, on a wall it is just more durable as everyone is going to want to touch it. Usually when your not looking! Not only for durability, but with real gold it just allows it a better brightness. If its a large area and sizing the whole surface isn't practical for fear of loosing tack, size out about a half foot more area than you plan to gild. Once your gilding is up to that point, size for the next day by rolling just into that half foot area blending it smooth. And make sure you size an extra half foot, 4-5 inches is fine too but at least the width of a leaf. Just make sure you don't gild all your size and you should have no problem.

Gold leafing on furniture

  I recently, this week, finished a gilding project on a rocking chair. A school name, the person the chair was awarded to and the dates of service. I elected to use a low tack vinyl stencil. I have found that unlike a mylar stencil with spray adhesive that allows your size to seep in, the low tack vinyls do not. You can have these cut for you at most reputable sign shops with plotters. I am fortunate to have a really nice shop nearby. I just give them the layout of words/dates and the dimensions and they do the rest.
   I placed the stencil on the chair back and burnish lightly to make sure its adhered well. On furniture I prefer the slow oil size. I feel it gives more time and I feel it is just a little more substantial than the quick. No proof, just what I observe in the final projects. The key at this point is a uniform thin coating making sure of no holidays and that all the letter edges and curves have been sized. I let it set for about an hour to two and remove the stencil. If you wait to remove it after gilding you risk the cured size on the stencil "pulling" the edges of your letters leaving them a little jagged. I then wait till tack time and lay the leaf. I take a soft burnishing brush and very lightly push the gold and swirl a bit to make sure all the size has leaf. My own preference at this point is to come back the next day and clean and burnish. I feel if you hurry this process you loose some of the golds brightness. Sometimes there is tiny little areas that size got to that needs cleaned up. I like using cotton swabs (Q-Tips) with a little mineral spirits. Of course before starting you should know what the finish paint is. You wouldn't want to clean the gold off oil paint with spirits.

A recent test of oil size

About a month ago I decided to make some sample "chips" using 23ct Manetti patent gold leaf using 4 different sizes, all oil, to see any differences there might be. I used Rolco Quick (3 hr.) Rolco Slow (12 hr.) Rolco Artisans and LeFranc 12 hour, (the old formula with lead) which can't be bought any more. In appearance they were all similar except the Rolco Artisans. It left the leaf somewhat matte looking. Recently I gilded a 600 sq. ft ceiling using this oil size. It took about 16-18 hrs to get to tack, and had plenty of working time. Actually could gild for 8-10 hrs and it would show no signs of setting. I also noticed that days later you could touch the gold and it would still seem like it was not cured. Same thing with my sample chip a month later. So being a closet chemist, I just had to play. I mixed some japan drier in it and made another chip. Using the same gold leaf in the same climate, my studio/garage. Happy results followed as I found the gold bright, not matte and to the touch it felt cured or dry as the Rolco Quick and Slow were. The Artisans is a nice size, maybe a touch too thin, but I highly recommend testing it in your climate before jumping into a project. I know that any future work using the Artisans size by me will have a little bit of driers added.