THE BEST OVER ALL HARP

Log in to your Harp Column account to post or reply in the forums. If you don’t have an account yet, you’ll need to email us to set one up.

This topic has 42 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 2 months ago by John Walsh.

Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 43 total)

← 1 2 3 →

Author

Posts
January 19, 2008 at 10:54 pm #162941

carl-swanson
Participant

Tacye- Not exactly. In oil gilding an oil based varnish is brushed onto the parts to be gilded. It is then left for several hours, until it has cured enough to be solid(no longer liquid) but still has a tacky surface. The gold leaf is laid on this surface. Oil gilding is fast and easy compared to Water gilding. It gives you a textured surface that is not completely smooth. It has to be used for deep recesses in carved surfaces.

Water gilding involves the use of a very fine clay mixed with hide glue. It is painted on the surface to be gilded, allowed to dry, and then is sanded smooth. To lay the gold, small sections of the surface are brushed with water which releases the glue in the clay for a few seconds. The gold is quickly laid on this wet surface. Water gilding gives you a seemless even surface(when done right). Water gilding can be burnished to a mirror shine, whereas oil gilding cannot. Water gilding cannot be done in deep recesses. It is very time consuming when compared to oil gilding.

January 19, 2008 at 11:09 pm #162942

Tacye
Participant

Carl, have you ever tried epoxy gilding?

January 19, 2008 at 11:10 pm #162943

unknown-user
Participant

Carl,

This is really a neat topic!

January 19, 2008 at 11:13 pm #162944

unknown-user
Participant

Forgot to ask…which procedure (water or oil) lasts longer?

Maria

January 19, 2008 at 11:20 pm #162945

carl-swanson
Participant

Rabbit skin glue is one of several forms of hide glue. Sometimes it’s called fish glue.

January 19, 2008 at 11:21 pm #162946

carl-swanson
Participant

It’s not a question of lasting longer. With care, they will both last the same amount of time.

January 19, 2008 at 11:39 pm #162947

carl-swanson
Participant

Maria- I don’t think it’s necessary to put a cover on the harp to protect it when not being moved. Even the cover touching the gold can scuff it.

January 19, 2008 at 11:45 pm #162948

unknown-user
Participant

O.k.

January 20, 2008 at 1:30 am #162949

barbara-low
Participant

I believe water gilding lasts longer.

January 20, 2008 at 9:37 am #162950

Tacye
Participant

We have a terminology difference- I believe historically that ‘glue’ only applied to adhesive made from boiled up bits of animals whether hide, rabbit skin or fish, including isinglass…

January 20, 2008 at 5:20 pm #162951

barbara-low
Participant

Tacye, I’ve done some oil gilding, but haven’t heard of using epoxy. Do you wait for the epoxy to become almost dry, but still somewhat tacky before you lay the gold?

January 20, 2008 at 6:41 pm #162952

carl-swanson
Participant

Tacye- I would never use epoxy for gilding or any kind of finish work. It’s unrepairable, and if you have to remove it, the only way(THE ONLY WAY) is scraping and sanding. There is no stripper or remover that will soften it.

January 20, 2008 at 10:37 pm #162953

Tacye
Participant

I came across epoxy gilding somewhere on the web as a suggestion for people faced with picture frames that had to be repared owned by people who refused to pay the cost for traditional work.

January 21, 2008 at 12:42 am #162954

carl-swanson
Participant

Tacye- The first rule of conservation and restoration is, like in medicine, is do no harm. That means don’t do anything that is not irreversible. For that reason I don’t believe that a compound like epoxy has any place in either gilding or finishing a harp.

January 23, 2008 at 5:26 pm #162955

Evangeline Williams
Participant

Okay, is there a way to do water gilding without using animal-based glue?
Author

Posts