Surface gilded trivets?

Bobbie Rochow · Post by **Bobbie Rochow** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:11 pm

I have some pieces of ceramic tile used for walls, about 5" square each. Have you ever heard of anyone making trivets out of them? You know, hot plates for dinner on the table? I am wondering if surface gilding would hold up under the heat. Also, the One Shot paint itself. Would it hold up as well? They would make nice gifts, I am thinking.

Post by **Mike Jackson** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:47 pm

Bobbie,
I would suggest the gold will rub off after much use, but the only real way to find out is to do a test piece.
You might also think about gilding the tile, the offsetting a piece of glass over it to protect the gold...and if I were going to do that, I'd probably decorate the back of the glass instead of gilding the tile.

M. Jackson

Post by **Danny Baronian** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:16 pm

Surface gold will not hold up on the tile as Mike said, and there is no clear that will stand up to the use you purpose without the use of special purpose, two part finishes.

Apply a mask to the tile - or glass, sandblast, gild and clear coat the cavity, or paint fill. Regular vinyl can be used for light depth carving in tile or glass.

Regardless of which way you choose, do as suggested and make a test sample. You will then know how it holds up, along with a sample if successful. Most importantly you know first hand what will, and will not work.

If you did a sample after you posted this, you'd already know!

Danny

Post by **Mike Jackson** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:58 pm

Bobbie,
We had some tiles left over from a job long, long ago. We covered them with sandblast stencil, then etched designs with elements like moose, deer, elk, and antelope. We left a border, left the animals raised and blasted the background. In our case, we let the lighter frosted color and texture of the tiles natural, but it would have been easy to spray the open areas with red or green (color of your choosing), then peel the stencil. We put a round felt pad on the back side of each corner and the coasters were complete. We made a set for ourselves and a few to give away for Christmas.

When it boils down to a question, you can ask yourself "what is the best use for the tiles?", or you could ask youself "if you were going to make coasters, what is a creative way of doing them?" Possibly, using clear glass squares would be the best starting material and work from the back, giving you all the options of reverse glass painting and gilding, etching, chipping, and so forth.

Ideally, you don't want to handle surface gilded items, EVER. The layer of gold is only 1/300,000th of an inch thick. It is easy to scratch or rub, and adding a varnish changes its character. Throw in the issue of water soaking on the surface if a icy glass is it, or the potential of heat from a pot or hot cup of coffee.

Those are just my thoughts on the issue. Experimentation is probably called for at your end now!

Mike Jackson

erik winkler · Post by **erik winkler** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:18 pm

May i step in this discusion please?
Eventhough (as you know) I am a beginner in the gilding scene.
And I do not want to talk about things only in theorie and not apply them in real.... but than again....

1. I read about a size in a cataloque of a German goldbeater that is made for restoring china.

2. And ofcourse there is the other technique were one can paint a gold-solution on china wich will turn into gold after it being heated in a kiln.

Post by **Danny Baronian** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 12:56 pm

Your right erick, though you'll need a few items to get started.

You'll need a kiln and liquid gold. Liquid gold such as CerDecOr and Colorobbia sells for $ 18 - 35 US... for 1 1/2 - 2 grams (2 grams is 1/15th of an ounce).

After that, paint or screen your image on, fire up the kiln and your set to go.