John just mentioned somethng about 0000 steel wool for cleaning up the gold as well on my post, look there, you might get some other quick solutions too. Good luck!

Hey there, mine is from QH & F down in the Carolinas, it is alright, but I ususally custom make mine per job. The QHF one is a piece of solid plastic stock lathed and with a steel pole sticking out the rear. The felt end has some sort of foam rubber that looks like it was carved to make it round...

WOW, thanks guys! I still have to get pictures, but will post them soon. Great info too. Billy Bob, I am somewhat a product of modern society, trying to make-up for my lack of experience with technology. I can letter and outine etc., I am just slower than dirt. I do still practice my lettering and h...

Here are a few things I think I might do next time.... Plan on a whole day to get the whole window prepped and laid out and outlined etc. lay in the oil size for the centers, and then gild the centers with patent gold (or lemon gold etc...) and then burnish the centers with plaid or engine turned. T...

First off, thank you everyone who has helped me with my problems and prep. I though that I would share my experience and also post the pictures tomorrow. I learned glass gilding from Bendon Brandon at the SOG (Society of Gilders) event held in Lancaster, Pa a few years ago, so I am far from an exper...

Thanks for sharing those beautiful pictures, I love to go to the Shelburne Museum here in VT to look at all the old coaches, carriages and sleighs. Absolutely fabulous lettering and stripe work on them. There are even a couple of butcher wagons and even a police paddy wagon? If I can get pictures, I...

I too believe that educating the customer is harder now, but I think it is just because they have no idea how anything is done anymore. Growing up, I never saw anyone out painting a sign, lettering a truck or even knowing how they got those tiny letters of a car dealership on the backs of cars. Howe...

I am working on my first $$$ window gilding job and have had problems with my Fine Gold's Back up black. It seems that it comes out of the tube in 2 parts (like GI peanut butter), how do I get it to mix back together so I can use it normally? Other than that, the gild is going pretty well (I have to...

Alan Johnson says this will be a good one, anyone interested???? The Connecticut Sign Association along with Guida Dairy will sponsor..... C.S.A. "Septemberfest", "The Canaan Wall Bash and Panel Jam". Sept.15-18, 2005 in Canaan CT, 06018. The 15'th will be arrival day with a tour...

Thanks so much, I m running a test here at home with a spray bottle my girlfriend doesn't need. It is working pretty good so far, the sprayer lays out a nice even mist and wets the surface pretty quick. I cannot compare to the brush method, because it has been 5 years since I did it that way. Also, ...

Great, thanks.

What type of pump spray bottle? The kind they sell for olive oil at the kitchen store or your regular type of spray bottle?

Hello,

I am just about to buy my first water size brush and was wondering what size is the most usefull, and why there are different sizes. Are there bigger ones for larger letters?

Thanks again.

Wow, 50 years! Congrats! I hope to be doing this that long as well. I just wanted to add that Bill Reidel (Little Ferry, NJ) lays his leaf right from the book onto the glass! He says that he just holds it so close that the leaf just jumps (as it does from the tip too) onto the size. I have yet to tr...

Since I am still pretty new to this and I can remember back the 8 years when I first started, I can give some good input. First are brushes... I bought the Mack Grays in odd numbers 1 through 18 (I think the 18 was a brown). Most of them are still in good shape. I have since been introduced to the N...

When I have the luxury of having paintmask, I like to do as Mike does, cut the outline in there too, except I cut a smaller outline first, so that after I paint in/size the lettering, I pull up the first outline (usually .1") to let the size lay over. From there you let it set up and then gild ...

Absolutely stunning (to my untrained eye).

I don't remember the last time I brought a cat to a bar though....

Thank you for sharing that piece.

It is interesting, I have never seen or heard of the brand gold they sell, Falcon? It is pretty reasonably priced though. Anyone use their gold before?

Doug.

It seems back in the day, the sign guys wore button up shirts and ties with dressy pants, and lab coats. I have been doing this for 8 years, and as Von Dutch used to say, I don't own any clothes without paint on them. Hmmm.... Was the switch to getting paint on yourself after the soldiers/signpainte...

I remember reading that since Chromatic was bought out, 1-Shot didn't have plans on producing the Clear Overcoat Varnish for a while. Have they made any since? Is it the same stuff? It seems the more experienced window letterers on here swore by the stuff, and my original can is getting low. Or, doe...

Were the exterior of his kits decorated in any way?
Some old timers used to make their kits as beautiful as the work they did with them.

Hey thanks for the tip, I was considering doing the fade in transparent, but by mixing the Aqua with Clear. I have never tried tube oil paints, so it would be a whole new thing to learn.

Thanks for the tip though.

Doug.

Those pics are great! Only being a newbie (less than 10 years), I love seeing what others carry in their kits. I remember a few years ago people were posting what they carried in their kits (may have been on the other site), but it was very interesting. It wouldn't be possible to give us an itemized...

All Excellent info, THANK YOU all! I just found a can of Chromatic Sign Finishing Clear, but I don't think that is close to the Clear Overcoat Varnish I have down in NJ. I am surprised that the hardener doesn't make the paint/clear too brittle to hold onto the glass. I use the 1-Shot hardner pretty ...

THANK YOU!!!

I forgot to mention that I also had gold size. I was thinking why not?

THANK YOU AGAIN!

Doug.

G'day, I need to do an airbrush fade (Aqua to Transparent) on glass either tomorrow or next week and don't have my Chromatic clear up here, any suggestions? I do have: 1-Shot Super Gloss Tinting Clear Frog Juice, both Solvent and Water Based 1-Shot UV Acrylic Clear HOK UC-3 Clear and something else ...

Alan, you are just too much!

Hey, isn't that sign done in vinyl?

JUST KIDDING!

I have seen a nice gold on glass job where the matte centers of the letters were engine turned. Is this as easy as doing it on a truck? It was a beautiful effect. Too bad the gold is delaminating from the glass in a restaurant in Vermont, I remember reading that it is bad to gild windows on the East...

A couple of other ways we were told in school:
Look at your design in a mirror.
Hold the design upside down.

These are ways to see what attracts you eye first.

Another technique I discovered is when making the paintmask add a fine outline .1" around your letters and the when you paint/size the area you then weed the fine outline so the paint/size can lay down and you still have the rest of the area protected against renegade gold flecks and from pulli...

Hey Mike, When I was apprenticing with Harry Henkel, we did mostly truck lettering (you know the Jersey thing, in Jersey), and I can tell you storyies for hours! The photo is of one of our most Notorious clients, not only did we have to drive 40 minutes through city traffic into Newark!, we would be...