White Acid Recipes.
Embossed Glass
From Decorative Glass Processes
Hydrofluoric acid is produced by heating fluor spar (calcium fluoride) in concentrated sulphuric acid in a retort made of lead and condensing the resultant gas in water, and formerly had to be prepared by glass-workers themselves, but can now be obtained ready for use from manufacturers, such as Messrs. Wilkinson & Son, Attercliffe, Sheffield, and Messrs. Cruikshanks, Birmingham.
White acid can also be obtained ready made, but, as no special apparatus is required, most workers prefer to prepare their own to suit the particular style of work which they have in hand. This course is, in fact, advisable, as white acid is very apt to go wrong and may require frequent “doctoring “ to keep it in working order. Although popularly known as white “acid,â€￾ this mixture is not really acid in its nature - when in proper working order a test with litmus paper shows it to be distinctly alkaline. Red litmus paper dipped into it turns blue, while blue litmus paper dipped into fluoric acid of course changes to red.
One of the most satisfactory recipes for the production of white acid is as follows:
fluoric Acid (full strength) - 1/2 pint, carbonate of soda - 1 ½ lbs, water - 1 pint. The soda (common washing soda) must be selected, only clear crystals being used and the white powder discarded…. The above quantities may have to be modified under certain conditions, weather, for instance, having a considerable effect upon the mixture, and only an actual test upon a sample piece of glass can be taken as an indication that the mixture is in working order. It ought to produce a dense white obscure in about an hour.
Another recipe substitutes carbonate of ammonia for carbonate of soda, adding the carbonate to a mixture of acid and water a small lump at a time till effervescence ceases. This mixture works perfectly well, but does not produce such a dense white as the first. Its fullest effect is reached in about twenty-five minutes.
A third recipe - Soda Ash, 1 lb., Rain Water, 1/2 gallon, Fluoric Acid, 1/2 lb. - also produces a very weak effect.

A little snippet and a question... From "The Modern Sign Writer" Sutherland Publishing Company, LTD., Southport, Lancs, England. Third Edition, 1954 (No info on date of first edition) WHITE ACID: Hydroflouric acid neutralised by the addition of rock amonia. Small portions of rock amonia ar...

erock,
second try

interesting site re:/snapper/traveling/itinerant sign painter

http://www.stumpranchonline.com/Savage/JohnW/

Ray, Those must have been the days. Just got an original edition of Strong's "The Art of Show Card Writing" 1919/1922 Detroit School of Lettering. Lawrence and Charles Strong. Truly fascinating throughout. The Paasche and Speedball ads in the back of the book are great. I have gone complet...

OK....I'm sitting there watching "Antiques Road Show".... Lady has really nice reverse painted dome shaped lamp shade....The lamp was under it too, but I wasn't interested.... Lamp and shade were from the early twenties.... The appraiser tells her all about the reverse painting and then ge...

Third edition. ST Publications Copyright 1986 On the inside of the color centerfold after page 86. There is a regular color page first, then a folded over centerfold page. I didn't realize it was folded over until about the third time I read through the book. This is the edition with the full color ...

In my copy of Gold Leaf techniques, 3rd edition, there is a picture of Raymond H. LeBlanc's sample case. It appears that he also used framed, single strength glass for his samples. I'm sure someone who knows how to get a picture loaded up here, can scan it and load it up. (Mike ?)

There is another Atkinson book on Ebay. 1909 edition. Cover looks a lot rougher than the one I was lucky enough to get. If interested, you may want to ask the seller to do a careful page check before bidding. As you may be aware, I got a surprise. http://cgi.ebay.com/1909-SIGN-PAINTING-BOOK_W0QQitem...

Russ, Gent here in town works in the restoration dept. (bindery?) of an antique book seller in Boston. He is going to dis-assemble the book, insert the replacement pages, and re-sew the the pages. I guess back then books had the pages sewn together in small bunches, then they were somehow sewn again...

Thanks to Si Allen, I can now have this great book restored to almost original condition.
Thanks Si for the time and effort.
Bill "Irish" Holohan

I have had the good fortune to purchase a 1915 copy of Atkinson's "Sign Painting". The book is in great condition after 90 years. It has one loose page and is missing 6 pages. The missing pages are 167-168, 189-190, and 207-208. I would be more than happy to pay any one of you that could s...

Bob, Call or stop in to Purinton Locksmiths in Worcester....Oldest continuously operating locksmith co. in the USA. (1858) They are big time safe experts. They had a fantastic collection of old safe books, catalogs, etc. Explain to them what you are doing and I am sure they would be more than happy ...

Just got "Brush Lettering Step by Step" by Jim and Bobbie Gray. Found it on Ebay with "brush lettering" search. 128 pages, profusely illustrated, most in color. Sections on tools/brushes, layout, kerning, tricks of the trade, and alphabets. Excellent basic book for the beginner. ...

I once saw part of the process by accident in Virginia Beach, Va. about 35 years ago. Had no knowledge of the sign business at the time, but was fascinated by what I saw. From what I gathered, the white background on the signs this gent was doing were fired first in a large kiln shaped like an overs...

Don,
Great to see that the "Vector Miester" hasn't lost his touch. Really nice work.

Irish

Mike, The lad/lass described is a figment of my imagination. While up posting I couldn't help noticing the number of views in comparison to the number of regular posters. It is obvious from the posts, that most are from professionals doing "high end" work. A little intimidating if you are ...

Let's "Make Believe" I am a sincere young lad/lass interested in learning to letter. I have told my Dad what I want to do. He thinks I'm nuts, but he loves me, so he agrees to humor/help me. I have lurked here for several years, but was too intimidated by the major talents here to jump in ...

To All Who Filled the old site. For the past few weeks, I have had the pleasure of up posting much of the info from the old site. It could have been done in a more timely fashion had I not stopped to read every post. Many I had read in the past, but many I had not. The amount and depth of the inform...

OLD FORUM POSTS Posted by vance galliher on August 03, 2003 at one of the conclaves several years ago we screened david butler's letterhead logo as a project. yesterday i finally started to work on my piece. after several typical bonami cleanings, i began by watering sizing the "chisels" a...

OLD FORUM POSTS Posted by Robert Beverly on July 02, 2003 So... has there been a definate product to replace the pacer glue Rick used to sell? I used frog juice with poor results and Mike had mentioned a glue that was light activated. I was curious as to if there were any safe...sure methods found t...

OLD FORUM POSTS Posted by Roderick on July 02, 2003 If anyone is interested in useing real gems and jewels on there signs I just found my old conection.I used cubic zarconeons(I know it's not spelled right) on his sign and he loved it.They looked like real diamonds annd their cheap Robert Beverly Ro...

OLD FORUM POSTS Posted by Larry White on July 02, 2003 Once again I reached for my One Shot Gold Size to find it had gelled in the can, this has also happened with my LeFranc quick and slow size. Anyone haave any tips on increasing these products shelf life? Thanks, Larry D. Bernhardt Hi again Larry...

OLD FORUM POSTS Posted by Roderick on July 03, 2003 While traveling on a job to Atlantic City I had the pleasure of finding a book store that had quite a selection of old sign books.I picked out about 15 that I wanted and bought 5 that I could afford ( 25.00 to 150.00.I talked to the owner about the...

OLD FORUM POSTS Posted by vance galliher on July 05, 2003 .........where hands can touch (restaurant).. what do you do with the worked ( chipped/etched/clear....no leaf) area ? (after blasting it is not as glossy as front side of glass)perhaps clear coat ? but you would have to that before removing ...

OLD FORUM POSTS Posted by Bob on July 05, 2003 Hi Guys, I was looking at some old pictures of signs from the late 1800s to around the early 1900s. And some thing struck me, no layout rules as we use today. There were no margins , no negative space, no seeming thought to letter style. It just was &qu...

OLD FORUM POSTS Posted by Danny Baronian on July 06, 2003 Run out of asphaltum and no local suppliers nearby? Try the nursery or any local hardware store. The material they use to seal tree and plant branches is asphaltum. Comes in quarts, gallons and rattle cans. The spray cans produce a fine, even...

OLD FORUM POSTS Posted by cam bortz on July 07, 2003 I recently did work for a renovated theater on Block Island. The theater had begun life as a roller skating rink in 1906, and was converted to a theatre in the 20's. The present owner found an original oilcloth banner "all crumpled up in a ba...

OLD FORUM POSTS Posted by Harry Malicoat on July 08, 2003 Does anybody know any more about the planned garage sale at Fine Gold. I haven't received any notice and I have been at every conclave since 90 and of course buy from them like the rest of the group. I plan to go, but it would be great to at ...

OLD FORUM POST Posted by Bill Masters on July 08, 2003 I have to paint a window splash,what paint is everyone using,and where can i get it.thanks Bill. Chuck Davis I used to use a fluorescent water-based paint made by "Day-Glo". Ordway Sign Supply here in California used to sell it. The tr...

OLD FORUM POST Posted by John Grenier on July 09, 2003 Well, finally after 11 years we are making glue chipped glass signs. Question: for applying the glue with a squeezy bottle what is the best source for the bottle, thought I might try the local pharmacy and the grocery. I thought a veterinarian s...