Gilder's Tool Box

Learn which specialized tools you will need for working with gold leaf and metal leaf whether you are glass gilding or surface gilding.

By Jim Hingst @hingst_jim

Essential Supplies for Glass Gilding & Surface Gilding

For either glass gilding or surface, you don’t need very many specialized tools. Some necessary supplies you can probably find around your shop.  This article describes the essential equipment that you just cannot do without, along with a few other special goodies that would be nice additions to your tool box.

Because cleanliness is critical in gilding, many of the veteran sign painters will have a separate tool box just for their tools and supplies.  By segregating the gilding tools from the painting tools, contamination is minimized. Some of these tools are available at sign supply distributors or you can find these at specialty distributors, who carry products for painters and gilders, such as Letterhead Sign Supply (www.letterheadsignsupply.com)  or Canadian Signcrafters Supply (www.signcrafterssupply.com).  Below is a list of tools and supplies that you may want to include in your tool box for gold leaf work:

Gilder's Tools

Traditional Gilder's Tip shown along side of a Smith Tip.

Gilder’s Tip.  

A gilder’s tip is a very thin flat brush, about three inches wide, used to transfer loose sheets of gold leaf to the work surface. Traditionally the gilder will brush the hair of the gilder’s tip over his hair.  The brush hairs will pick up some of the oils from the gilder’s hair.  This gives the gilder’s tip enough tack to pick up and transfer the sheet of gold leaf. (An alternate technique recommended by Jill London of the Society of Gilders is to draw the hairs of the brush between the back of your hand and the side of your face. Your skin should have just enough oil to transfer sheets of gold leaf.) The Smith Tip, designed by famed gilder, David Smith, is a unique variation on the conventional gilder’s tip design. It allows the novice to easier pick up and transfer full sheets of loose gold leaf with ease. Smith’s  YouTube video at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-eW6sxhli0&feature=relmfu demonstrates how easy it is to use the tool. You can purchase the Smith Tip at www.angelgilding.com. 

Mack Brush RP-4 Gilders Tip For Loose Gold Mack Sign Lettering

A gilder's knife is used to cut a sheet of gold leaf into small pieces.

Gilder’s Knife. 

A  gilder’s knife features a long, flat blade used to cut the gold leaf into pieces.  It should be sharp and smooth enough to cut the gold without snagging or tearing the leaf.  Is a special knife absolutely necessary for cutting gold leaf into sections? Probably not. But it’s nice to have. You could probably get away with using a pocket knife, but it must be sharp and without any burrs that will tear the leaf.  Some of the old time gilders would allow the finger nail of either their pinky finger or index finger to grow long, and would use it to cut the gold.

Gilder's Cushion

Gilder’s Cushion.  

A square or rectangular wooden board covered with soft suede leather. Used as a cutting board for gold leaf. Many commercial gilder’s cushions have a wind screen that prevents unexpected breezes from blowing the gold leaf away. Most gilder’s in the sign industry will not transfer leaf to a gilder’s cushion. Instead, they will work directly out of a book of gold leaf.

Size Brushes

Flat Wash Brush (also called a Size Brush).  

Use to apply water size when glass gilding.  The ferrule is usually brass to prevent rusting.  

Gilder's Surplus Removal Brush

Gilder’s Surplus Removal Brush. 

After backing up water gilding with paint, wait for the paint to dry thoroughly.  Then moisten the surface of the leaf with a damp rag. Gently brushing over the moistened leaf in a back and forth motion removes the surplus material. 

Bob Behounek uses a powder puff to gently remove the excess metal leaf.

Powder Puff.  

For brushing away the excess metal leaf, a powder puff is a perfect tool. Chicago Brushmasters founder, Bob Behounek, (pictured in the above photo), uses a powder puff to gently remove skewings from the gilded surface. 

With a Squirrel Hair Mop Brush you can tamp gold leaf into an irregular surface.

Squirrel Hair Mop Brush.  

A mop brush is an essential gilder’s tool. The best quality brushes are comprised of squirrel hair. A mop brush is used to tamp down gold leaf and composition leaf onto a surface which has  been prepared with size. After the gold leaf is applied, the mop brush is also used to dust away the excess gold particles, called skewings. Goat hair mop brushes and cosmetic brushes are also used, but their hair is much coarser than squirrel hair.  The coarser brushes are typically not used for 23k gold, but are acceptable when working with metal leaf.

Kafka Kwill

Lettering Quills and Outliners.  

For painting outlines and backing up the gold leaf you will need a set of quills and outliners.  The new Kafka Kwills and Script Liners are excellent brushes, whether you are a beginner or seasoned pro.  With these brushes you can easily pull long, straight lines. Plus the width of the stroke remains consistent, without flaring, even when the pressure on the brush head varies. Read my review of the brush series at New Steve Kafka Brush Series.

Use a fitch to brush on oil size when surface gilding. 

David Hightower Fitch. 

Many gilders will use a lettering quill to apply the size.  As an alternative, others prefer to use the "The David Hightower Fitch" by the Andrew Mack & Son Brush Company.  This white hog bristle fitch has much shorter hair length than their standard fitch brush used for painting rough surfaces, such as walls.  Because of its shorter length, the hairs are stiffer than the standard fitch and much stiffer than the softer squirrel hairs used in making a quill.  This stiffer brush does a better job of getting the size into any tight corners, and is better at brushing out any puddling.  "The David Hightower Fitch"  is available in four sizes: ¼”, ½”, ¾” and 1”. Many fitch brushes are cupped.  That means that looking from the side of the brush that its tip has a rounded shape.  The advantage of the cupped tip is that you have better control with the brush, it also allows you to feather the oil size when surface gilding. For more on surface gilding read  Using Paint Mask for Surface Gilding.

Use an engine turn tool to impart a pattern in a gilded surface.

Engine Turning Tool. 

To impart an engine turn pattern into the gilded area, a special turning tool, which is covered with velvet is used. In past generations, the old timers would use a cotton ball to create a turn pattern but the velvet is much gentler. In using the turning tool, lightly press it into the gold leaf and give the tool a ¼ turn. Position the tool for the subsequent turn so that the outside edge of the tool slightly overlaps the outside edge of preceding turn.  Engine turning tools are available in a number of different sizes. Coast Airbrush (www.coastairbrush.com) and Quill Hair & Ferrule (http://www.qhfonline.com) are two distributors carrying these tools. In the following YouTube video clip, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQyAgBvHOZM&feature=relmfu), pinstripe artist Steve Kafka demonstrates the technique of creating an engine turn pattern in  gold leaf. 

Engine turn tools are available in a variety of sizes.

Razor Scraper.  

Older windows often have very tiny paint specks that you won’t see until you apply the gold leaf. Scraping the surface with a razor scraper will remove these paint specks and other stubborn particles. Make sure that the razor blade does not have any burrs or you will scratch the glass.

The OLFA XSR-300 Extra Heavy Duty Scraper is an excellent tool 

for cleaning tiny specks off of glass prior to glass gilding 

or the application of window graphics. 

Fine Metal Sieve.  

Filtering the water size through a fine metal sieve will catch any undissolved globs of gelatin, that could  blemish your gild. 

Gilder’s Supplies

Loose Gold Leaf. 

Gold is  generally sold in booklets of 25 pieces. The purity of the gold is measured in karats.  Pure gold is 24 karats. Other metals, such as copper and silver are added to the real gold to alter its physical properties, such as coloration and hardness. The addition of copper, for example, can impart a warmer reddish hue to the gold.  With the addition of silver, the appearance of the gold becomes more pale.  Much of the gold leaf sold to gilders is 23 ½ or 23 karats. 23XX deep gold is what is normally sold. There is, however, 23XXX gold, which is slightly thicker. When gilding on glass, rather than  using a standard 23 karat gold leaf, a much better choice is glass gold leaf, which is thicker.  Thinner leaf is much more likely to have pinholes, which will require patching or double gilding. Lemon gold, which is also a popular choice for water gilding glass, is about 18 karats. Even lighter in color is pale gold, which is approximately 16 karats.  The lightest color of gold leaf is white gold, which is about 12 karats (comprised of 50% gold and 50% silver).

Barnabas Blattgold - Genuine Gold Leaf Sheets, Professional Quality , 23 karat, 25 Sheets, 3-3/8 inches Booklet 

Hospital cotton is much softer than coarser cotton balls and much less likely to scratch the surface of soft gold. 

Hospital Cotton. 

After the leaf is positioned in place, some gilders will use a cotton ball to gently press the leaf into the size and then  brush away any of  the excess gold. Be very careful when rubbing the gold with the cotton ball.  Although the cotton feels soft, the cotton fibers are coarse enough to scratch the soft gold.  The more that you rub the gold with the cotton, the less the gold will shine. Hospital cotton is much less abrasive and so less likely to scratch the gold leaf. In glass gilding, after the gold is backed up with paint, you can use cotton balls to remove the excess gold from the glass. Cheese cloth also works well.

Gelatin Diamonds or Capsules. 

Dissolved in distilled water, gelatin adheres  the gold leaf to the glass. Available in either capsules or on sheets cut into diamond shaped pieces.

Distilled Water.  

In most cases tap water will work just fine.  But if you have high contents of sulfur in your drinking water, the contamination could cloud the size.

RTape's ProGrade Paint Mask is great for painting outlines. It cuts easily whether you are using a plotter or  cutting by hand. 

RTape ProGrade™ Paint Mask. 

If you need a stencil for painting an outline on a window or for surface gilding, I recommend using the RTape ProGrade™ PaintMask. It is comprised of a high quality polymeric vinyl which is easy to either plotter cut or hand cut, using an Xacto® knife with a #11 blade. If you hand cut the masking on a car surface, be especially careful not to cut into the customer’s paint job. When cutting a higher grade of paint mask, very light pressure on the blade is all that is needed.

There are a number of different brand and types of oil size on the market. Popular brands include Rolco, 1-Shot and Lefranc. 

Oil Size. 

Size is the adhesive that a gilder uses to bond the leaf material to the substrate. When you absolutely, positively must get a gold leaf job done the same day as you start, use either  1-Shot #4008 Fast Dry Gold Size or Rolco “Artisan” Size.  Generally, fast size sets up in about an hour and has an open time of one to two hours. Open time can vary greatly, so you need to test how fast the size sets up.

Rolco “Artisan” clear oil size typically gives you a wider window of workability. When you are gilding area, you often need those few extra minutes. If you are going to clear coat your job, you should use the Rolco brand in conjunction with the Rolco size because the clear coat is designed to expand and contract at the same rate as the Artisan size.

 

Although both water-based and oil-based size is available on the market, oil-based products are typically used for sign applications. When working with 23-karat gold, most professional gilders prefers using a slow size, such as the Lefranc 12- hour size.  For most commercial projects the slow size has a number of advantages.  Real gold leaf burnishes to a much brighter shine than when using the fast size.  The longer window of workability also allows for those inevitable everyday interruptions. 

DUX Slow Dry Oil-Based Gilding Size 

● Ready for gilding in 10 to 12 hours after application.

● Hours of open time allows more time for gilding large areas.

● Superior bond for years of durability.

Back up Paint. 

To back up their gold leaf work and to paint outlines and drop shadows, gilders use a variety of paints, including black Japan paint and Nazdar 59000 Series Black Enamel Screen Print Ink.

Window Spar Varnish. 

After backing up your work with paint, protect your work with a coating of varnish. Overlap the gilding by a ¼”.  The varnish provides protection from abrasion and some protect for cleaning chemicals.  Window cleaners should be instructed to use care when cleaning window gilding. You can thin the varnish with mineral spirits.  Generally the varnish will dry in about three hours. 

Liquid Joy or Ivory and an eye dropper.  

A drop or two of Joy or Ivory dishwashing liquid in a pint of water size will help the water wet out the surface of the glass. For dispensing the dishwashing liquid, an eye dropper is a handy tool to have.

If you can find cake Bon Ami bar soap, buy it. Otherwise use Gilder's Soap to clean glass.

Gilder’s Soap.  

The old timers would use cake Bon Ami bar soap to clean glass before water gilding. The original Bon Ami contained feldspar, calcium carbonate and sodium carbonate, which are very mild abrasives, that cleaned glass and mirrors without scratching the surface. It was the perfect cleaner for water gilding applications. Your chances of finding this on the market are slim and more likely none. If you run across the original Bon Ami soap, buy it. Don’t be surprised if the selling price is between $8 and $15 for a bar. As an alternative for cleaning glass prior to gilding, use Gilder’s Gold Leaf Glass Soap.  The correct way to use the soap is to moisten the cake with a damp cotton rag or damp sponge, rubbing the surface to produce a lather. After applying a thin coating to the glass surface, wait for the soap to dry.  Using a dry cotton rag or pad of cotton wadding, buff off the dried residue until the surface is squeaky clean. Gilder’s Soap is available at Letterhead Sign Supply. The link to the following YouTube video will demonstrate how to use Gilder’s Soap to clean glass before gilding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhVvjqdWkvs&feature=relmfu.

To clean any oily residue on the glass, first clean the glass with a wax and grease remover, such as DuPont’s 3919S Prep Sol.

Du Pont 3919S Prepsol.  

Contaminants come in different varieties. Some types are water soluble and will wash off of the surface of the substrate with detergent and water.  Other contaminants are greasy and oily and can only be removed by cleaning with a solvent, such as Du Pont Prepsol. For more information on solvent cleaning see my stories 3-Step Prep for Vehicle Graphics and DuPont Surface Cleaners.

Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA).  

Also called Rubbing Alcohol, 70% isopropyl alcohol is recommended for final cleaning of glass to remove any residue from any other cleaners. After saturating the surface with any solvent cleaner, you should dry it with a clean cotton cloth or paper toweling before the solvent evaporates. 70% IPA evaporates at a much slower rate than 90% IPA, especially during hot weather.

 Shadow Kaolin is a powdered Welch clay used by gilder's as a resist. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Francis Lestingi of Signs of Gold.)

 Shadow Kaolin.  

Gold leaf often sticks to the parts of the sign, where you don’t want it to stick. To prevent this, gilders will use Shadow Kaolin, a powdered Welch clay, as a resist, by lightly dusting the surface with it using a cosmetic brush. The kaolin powder forms a barrier preventing the gold leaf from sticking to those areas of the substrate. This practice can save clean up time. When painting size onto a surface, the hazy white dust turns clear, so you can easily tell, which areas have been coated and which haven’t.

Gold leaf is usually not clear coated. Butch "Superfrog" Anton's Frog Juice is a clear coat which you can use to protect gilded surfaces, if you choose to do so.

Clear Coat. 

Most gilders agree that for most sign applications, you should not clear coat 23-karat gold leaf.  What differentiates gold from other metals is its brilliance.  Clear coating diminishes its shiny surface.  As with all rules, there are exceptions.  If it is likely that the general public will put their grubby mitts on the gilded surface, by all means clear coat it. Remember, body oils will not tarnish the gold, but it will act as an adherent for dirt.

If you decide to clear coat your work, you have a few options.  For gold leaf projects, Butch "Superfrog" Anton’s Frog Juice is always a popular choice as is Rolco’s solvent-based acrylic topcoat.  These coatings provide good protection from abrasion, chemical spillage and the degrading effects of UV light.  Before using any clear coat in production, my advice is to Test, Don’t Guess.

Before using any clear coat, stir the can slowly. Slowly is the operative word, so that you don’t create bubbles in the clear coat. Usually you can use clear coat straight out of the can.  However, over time these coatings can thicken and will require thinning with either mineral spirits or turpentine.  Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s application instructions. After one to three hours, the clear coat should be dry to the touch, and fully cured after twelve hours.

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NEW INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS.  Five new videos have been added to RTape’s  YouTube channel. The following is a description of the new videos:

Squeegee Technique. Nothing is more basic in vinyl application than the squeegee. But some squeegees work better than others. And there are right ways and wrong ways to use this simple tool. This video clip reviews squeegee selection, squeegee care and squeegee technique. Click here to view the Squeegee Technique video.

Wet Applications. Dry applications are typically recommended for most vinyl applications. For those exceptions to the rule, this instructional video explains the right way to perform a wet application. Click here to view the Wet Applications video.

Introducing AT65. Installing multiple color overlays with a paper application tape is not much easier than driving in the dark without your headlights. For these challenging applications, RTape developed its AT65, the universal high tack film. This video clip explains the features and benefits of this remarkable new film application tape. Click here to view the Introducing AT65 video.

Application of Window Graphics. Installing vinyl graphics on glass can be challenging, because the adhesive aggressively grabs onto this high energy surface. Repositioning graphics on window is generally difficult, if not impossible. This instructional video explains how to dry apply window graphics right the first time. It also describes the necessary steps required for surface preparation. Click here to view the Application of Window Graphics video.

Transferring Frosted Window Graphics Films.  Because frosted window films are highly textured, transferring cut vinyl graphics can be problematic. This video provides direction in selection of the right application tape and how to apply these films quickly, easily and without problems. Click here to view the Transferring Frosted Window Graphics Films video.

About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.

Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer.  Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.

Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for  publications, such as  Signs Canada, SignCraft,  Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and  Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 325 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.

Slides of Jim's Artwork

© 2015 Jim Hingst