School me on Gold Leaf

Saw a 66 Fairlane Drag Car with Gold Leaf lettering on the side. It looked great. What are the costs and how difficult is it. Is there a Painting process that looks like Gold Leaf ???.....Thanks

 

There are people here that know a helluvalot more about this than me, and I'm sure they'll chime in. There is real gold gold leaf, and artificial. Most today is the artificial, A basecoat or sizeing is applied, and when nearly totally dry the gold leaf is pressed or burnished onto the sizeing. It can then be buffed or swirled. A competent applier can make it look easy. it isn't. I screw it up everytime.

 

Gold leaf is just very thin sheets of gold and it's really not that expensive to buy. You can also get fake gold leaf that's even cheaper. you also need size...that's the glue you stick the leaf on with. I bought some a couple of months ago to have a go with and all up it was around £10 ($20) for both size and (fake) leaf.. all you do is paint on the size to the design you want, let it go tacky and place the leaf on it, very carefully brush the leaf with a soft brush and where is not painted with size comes off leaving the design in gold.
OK sounds very simple but it needs practice to get it right. I can do it but not brilliantly yet but it's coming. I have no idea how much you would get charged to get someone else to do it but buy some leaf and size and have a go....Google search will get you a supplier

 

Please someone who knows WTH they're doing keep this thread alive, names,websites,phone numbers etc.I want to learn some stuff too, actually I want to copper leaf something and I figger its the same process...thanks

 

Dan Smith's in Seattle is where I have always gotten my stuff from. They sell sizing, brushes, burnishers, the whole nine.
http://www.danielsmith.com/

 

harder than it looks. get the good gold leaf. the cheap stuff ****s.

 

another alternative for a less permanent method, just in case you want to remove the painted letters/gold leaf a couple years down the road would be vinyl decals. Check out http://www.signgold.com/

 

John1964 That would be a nice alternative

 

I was going to mention SignGold as well. As far as a painting method to somewhat relpicate gold leaf... I was just in the big orange home improvement store waiting for some paint, and I was looking through the Ralph Lauren textured paints. They have some metallic golds that are pretty vibrant, and with their method of application, it would have a slight "leaffy" texture as well. I haven't tried this yet, but I thought it might p*** as a cheap alternative.

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/search.php

Safariknut did at least one How To here,several other posts available.


Just have to search.