- Joined
- Oct 2, 2013
- Messages
- 140
Got the tank and side panels back from the tank-painter and I'm really happy with the results. This was my first attempt to work with gold leaf, and it wasn't easy. Huge amount of patience, lots of manual dexterity, and an aptitude for tricky projects are all prerequisites! The big difference between the gold leaf and gold paint is the amount of reflection. It's quite stunning. Here's the process I went through:
1) stripped the tank with paint strippers and eventually sand paper.
2) Painter put a base coat of black (he uses Glasurit), plus a clear coat sanded with 600 grit.
3) I had premeasured/drawn/photographed the location of the script and the stripes--yes, measured with the horizon for the scripts with the tank on the bike and off the stand.
4) Stripes taped on using 'FBS Proband Fineline' tapes designed for pin-stripers. I had to slice some of the tape to be create gaps the same width as original.
5) The 'Norton' and '850 Commando' scripts, plus the stripes on the side panels, were stencils made for me by B+Bogus, here on the forum. His stencils were BRILLIANT! Thanks Andy!
6) Applied the gold leaf
7) Spent a day repairing tiny imperfections on the leaf along the edges to make them as sharp as possible. Largely done with a very fine paint brush and tiny amounts of mineral spirits. Typically, areas of gold leaf have a pin-stripe line along the edges, either as an accent, or to hid imperfections. I didn't want that line--which was why I spent so much time 'cleaning' the gold leaf edges.
8) back to the painter for the final clear coat.
Incidentally, I learned that the purer the gold you use, the finer the edges you get. Thus I used 23 karat. Sounds expensive but it wasn't. I used, both for a bunch of practice stripes, and the actual work, less than $40 of gold leaf.
I took lessons on gold-leafing from Youtube. Two by Steve Kafka were particularly helpful. He also talks about materials and where to get them. Thanks to Steve for that.
I bought two sets of stencils from Andy, fearing that I would likely screw one up--but I didn't. Thus happy to pass along the spare set for the price I paid: 15 Pounds Sterling ($23 US will do). Send me a PM.
1) stripped the tank with paint strippers and eventually sand paper.
2) Painter put a base coat of black (he uses Glasurit), plus a clear coat sanded with 600 grit.
3) I had premeasured/drawn/photographed the location of the script and the stripes--yes, measured with the horizon for the scripts with the tank on the bike and off the stand.
4) Stripes taped on using 'FBS Proband Fineline' tapes designed for pin-stripers. I had to slice some of the tape to be create gaps the same width as original.
5) The 'Norton' and '850 Commando' scripts, plus the stripes on the side panels, were stencils made for me by B+Bogus, here on the forum. His stencils were BRILLIANT! Thanks Andy!
6) Applied the gold leaf
7) Spent a day repairing tiny imperfections on the leaf along the edges to make them as sharp as possible. Largely done with a very fine paint brush and tiny amounts of mineral spirits. Typically, areas of gold leaf have a pin-stripe line along the edges, either as an accent, or to hid imperfections. I didn't want that line--which was why I spent so much time 'cleaning' the gold leaf edges.
8) back to the painter for the final clear coat.
Incidentally, I learned that the purer the gold you use, the finer the edges you get. Thus I used 23 karat. Sounds expensive but it wasn't. I used, both for a bunch of practice stripes, and the actual work, less than $40 of gold leaf.
I took lessons on gold-leafing from Youtube. Two by Steve Kafka were particularly helpful. He also talks about materials and where to get them. Thanks to Steve for that.
I bought two sets of stencils from Andy, fearing that I would likely screw one up--but I didn't. Thus happy to pass along the spare set for the price I paid: 15 Pounds Sterling ($23 US will do). Send me a PM.