Gold Lettering Technique

[joe]

There are times when I need a good looking gold letter but the budget doesn't support the real thing. Here's a techniques that will fool most any novice.

Of course curved dimensional letters show gold the best. My favorite underlayment is acrylic yellow and orange artists colors like Liquitex. Mix these colors together to get a rich yellow gold color applying it over a white primer. I like to model these colors so there's a little variation in the lights to dark. This can be done without much care. Don't worry about getting a smooth coat. Just slop these colors on. Once dry come back with Modern Masters Irrediscent #194 gold.

This is a latex paint that doesn't have good covering power. And that's to your advantage. With a soft brush apply a thin coat and your done. No need to pile it on. That will hide the underlayment. It's almost like magic. You'll laugh at how easy it is.

[James M]

Joe,

Thanks for the tip. I always wanted to try gold lettering but never had the budget.

James

[RossMosh]

Two notes from my limited experience with Modern Masters and may not apply to this type particular type of gold.

1. Make sure your base latex plays nicely with the MM. You may find the MM may not stick great to all latex paints.
2. MM is a very elastic paint while drying. Keep this in mind, specifically if you plan to use it in v-carving.

[joe]

Ross,

With this technique, there is precious little MM used. Give it a try.

[chunkstyle]

Very cool!
Thanks Joe. I have an upcoming project that this will be perfect for. I'll post the results.
Many THanks,
Tim

[joe]

Tim,

Another option for you to try. You can paint an attractive yellow-gold field just as before then put down gold mica powder. That's an excellent method but takes longer because you'll need to lay down a gold size, varnish, let it set up to a high tack before applying the mica.

[chunkstyle]

Hmmmmm....

I started thinking about having done something similar to this technique with one of my earliest signs a few years back. Went to the shelf and found the gold paint. Lo and behold it was modern masters 'iridescent gold'! Thing was, I was kind of unhappy about the results I got with this technique. MM was painted over a yellow 1st coat and the fonts were V carved into 18lb. sign foam. I thought the color was dull and lifeless and had no life. Perhaps I had applied the MM gold to heavy whereas what you describe would be to add it as more of a translucent glaze?http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=26921&stc=1

[joe]

Yep, that's exactly what happened. Now that you have the MM, why not lay down some cadium yellow light, let it dry, and follow it up with the MM. The effect you are after is a translucent top coat that has a sparkle to it. This should have a slight gloss to it. All this works best on dimensional letters.

Please report back to let us know how it looks.

O, by the way, your Osborn School sign is excellent. The black outline around the gold sets your work apart.

[chunkstyle]

"The black outline around the gold sets your work apart."

Proof that I'm trying to pay attention to your and others advice from experience. These forums are invaluable.
The latest sign will be getting both V carved fonts and a large dimensional font. Should be a good learning project for applying this technique. I will post back.
Thanks again Joe. Much appreciated.

[joe]

Tim,

At one time I was in the habit of polishing the sub-surfaces of my letters in readiness for the gold application. Now, I see this as un-necessary, time consuming, rendering the net effect to have less flash. By allowing some texture your gold will flash from the added texture. I've posted lots of photo's showing the use of texture and gilding. My main point is you can save lots of time by not being too fussy with the undercoats. The technique is to "Plop" the undercoats down and not worry about texture. It will take care of itself.

Once again, what you're doing is the application of a glossy translucent gold over a bright yellow field. Nothing replaces gold but this is a good alternative.

[GeneMpls]

In one of Grampa Dan's classes I attended he said 'texture is your friend'. I am becoming more and more of a believer.

[joe]

That's right Gene,

Highly finished signs are the first to show flaws and wear. The major disadvantage to highly textured backgrounds is lack of delicate fire lines. This is easily overcome by cutting letters and details from another material and applying over textured background. However with gold, texture works for you.