GENERAL INFORMATION
ALL ABOUT GOLDS
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| TYPES OF GOLDS | In china painting there are two classifications of gold: 1-Liquid Bright Gold 2-Burnish Gold Liquid gold is a pure gold in dilute solution and is a type of luster. It fires brilliant and requires no burnishing. It will keep indefinitely if sealed or corked tightly. There are many kinds of liquid gold, to mention a few. For banding and lining and for designs (it flows readily and leaves sharp straight edge for rippled or embossed work (has more body and won't flow out) special gold for all-over painting stamping gold unfluxed liquid gold liquid gold for general use Many grades of bright gold are marketed - buy a good quality. |
| BRUSHES | Use good camel hair or sable brushes. A brush once used for china painting may be cleaned thoroughly in turpentine and then in alcohol and fluffed dry, but a brush once used for gold should never be used for painting, no matter how well cleaned. |
| SIZES OF BRUSHES | A few suggested sizes are: For handles and small all over
appications a #4- 6 square shader (quill) For large areas #6-12 square foot shader Scrolls, a scroller Stippling, square shader or deerfott stipplers New brushes should be washed in alcohol and fluffed dry before using. It is preferable to have separate brushes for each kind of gold. Store them in long tightly corked bottles. |
| CLEANING | China MUST be clean and dry before applying gold. Clean with alcohol and lint-free cloth, or wash with detergent soap, rinse and dry well. Do not use turpentine. |
| OLD CHINA | which has been used must be cleaned by boiling for 1 to 2 hours in a pan of water to which you have added 1/2 cup of baking soda. Cool, rinse and dry thoroughly before applying gold. |
| BRUSHES | These may be cleaned in turpentine and then in alcohol Fluff
dry. Wash in soap and water before storing away (alcohol dries brushes).
Keep two separate jars tightly covered for turpentine and alcohol and save
the gold settlings for rims. If separate brushes are kept for each kind of gold and are used often, it is not necessary to clean them, except stipplers and cut liners. Clean out excess gold and store gold in air tight, dust-free containers --they will keep soft and no gold will be wasted. Liquid bright gold brushes can be softened in the liquid gold prior to re-using. |
| KEEPING YOUR HANDS CLEAN | Fingers and hands may be kept clean with alcohol and water. Wear no "linty" garments. Smudges before firing should be cleaned off with alcohol and then water. (note, be sure to check the back of your piece for smudges, as well.) Lines may be straightened up with a small flat quill brush dipped in alcohol, wiped dry and run along sides of lines. Ragged edges may be cleaned, after drying, with sharp knife or razor blade. Smudges after firing can be removed with a gold eraser used as you would use a pencil eraser. Hard to reach places maybe cleaned off with powdered emery or pumice on dampened cotton-wrapped stick. Fired gold may also be removed from china with "Gold Off", (my note, this is very hard to find anymore) a paste or a liquid called "Eraser for Fired China and glass colors". Follow manufacturer's directions carefully. Use extreme care in applying gold so you leave no smudges or finger prints--usually they are not detected until after firing. |
| APPLICATION of Liquid Bright Gold | Do not shake or stir liquid bright gold: leave sediment in the bottom of the bottle. To avoid spills, set bottle in a small block of styrofoam or wood from which you have cut a center hole not quite to the bottom, or use non-tippable bottle. The neck of the bottle should be large enough to dip in your brushes easily. |
| APPLICATION | To apply, saturate brush well and force excess from it and brush the gold onto the china in one direction. Cover fairly even and smoothly with slight overlap but do not keep going over the gold. It is not necessary to have it absolutely even as firing will bring it to uniformity. (note, unless you have it too heavy, then it will fire unevenly.) Another, and perhaps even better method of applying bright gold for the inexperienced is to pour out a small amount (only what you need) on a glass slab or tile and work from this pile. It will be best to let it set up or thicken for a few minutes before using. If it should get too thick from long exposure it may be thinned with a drop or two of Gold Essence but otherwise bright gold should be used without any thinning. Never use over, near or with turpentine. Two applications of gold and two firings are always better than one heavy coat; it will wear better too. |
| APPLYING THOSE RIMS | Gold may be applied to rims with a finger of your right hand (I prefer to use ring finger leaving more workable fingers free and clean.) Balance your plate on the fingers of your left hand and rotate the plate as you apply gold back and forth on the rim. Apply uniformly with light pressure until tacky. Check for cleanliness. When using gold for rims direct from the bottle pick up bottle and styrofoam or wooden block together to avoid spilling. Rims may be gilded with the side of a brush charged with gold by turning the plate against a stationary brush held firmly in the right hand; however, the easier method is with the finger. In applying liquid bright gold to handles, paint the gold line next to the cup a little shorter than you will wish the finished line of gold so when to Roman gold is applied to cover, it will not extend beyond the handle and onto the cup. Do the parts of the handle attached to the cup first and the middle part of the handle last. Never apply liquid bright gold near or over wet paints or tints. it may be applied next to dry tints, but it is better to fire first. Don't dry gold in oven but do dry naturally before firing. Dry cups with gold inside with cup turned upside down. Do lusters likewise. Don't use over wax pencil or graphite lines; use India Ink or powdered charcoal. Never use on Satsuma, Beleek, or over raised paste, except on raised paste which is made especially for liquid bright gold application. Use, thickened on bisque--it will fire to look like matt gold. Usually only one application is necessary. Liquid gold over glossy color has brilliant finish and over matt a dull finish. If necessary, paint on bright gold, allow to dry, don't fire then carefully apply Roman gold, allowing Roman gold to extend over line of liquid bright gold. Fire and do another coat of Roman. Liquid bright gold alone, does not wear well but combined with Roman gold is very durable. Fine china is rarely adorned with liquid bright gold alone except in small areas on decorative pieces. |
| USES FOR LIQUID BRIGHT GOLD | on white china over fired color excellent foundation for Roman gold to mix with Roman gold on Bisque stippling stamping banding pen work over fired lusters over gloss enamels Don't do scrolls, or any fine lines with an application of liquid bright gold and then try to cover these lines with a second painting of Roman gold--it is impossible to cover them with free strokes and fine lines. Use pure Roman gold and liquid bright gold mixed, or liquid burnish gold on white china, use unfluxed gold or liquid burnish gold over fired color. |
| FIRING | For all over gold application and nothing else to consider, fire hot. Ventilation is most important Leave kiln partially open until pyrometer reaches 800 to 1000 F or about 2 hours, or until there is no odor. Gold can be fired fast but other decorations and type of ware dictate firing cycle. The faster fire requires higher heat because you are deprived of the soaking period as in a slow fire. |
| BRIGHT GOLD OVER COLOR | Liquid bright gold (or burnish gold) can be sucessfully used over fired over-glaze colors, with proper firing. It is important to fire the golds at least 100-200 degrees F lower than the temperature used for the color. Over soft colors such as greens it is usually necessary to further lower the temperature for firing the golds. |
| GOLD OVER YELLOW IS NOT SUCESSFUL | Many colors are affected by firing with too much liquid bright gold in the kiln hence, fire separately when possible. |
| BRIGHT GOLD DEFECTS | If gold is hazy or dull, ventilation was poor or application not clean. Faded or cracked, probably too high a fire, especailly on soft glaze. Purplish or poor color, too much thinning or applied too lightly poor adherence- underifred and poor ventilation. breaking or fuzzy edges-unclean wear contamination-dirty brushes is a frequent cause. |
| FIRING CHART FOR GOLDS | Hard bodied German, Japanese and French porcelain 016-014 Semi-Porcelain-- 017-015 Dinnerware, hard bodied domestic--017-016 Earthenware, hard glaze 017-016 Earthenware, soft glaze 019-018 Amateur artware* 019-018 Beleek, Satsuma, Sedji, some English and other soft china 019-017 Domestic fancyware 019-017 Very soft domestic fancyware 022-020 Pyrex glass 018 Lime glass 021 Flint glass 022-021 Lead glass 960-1000 degrees Decals on glass 022 First the type of china determines the degree of firing secondly, the decoration *Some soft domestic china will not safely fire more than one time. |
| BURNISH GOLD | Also called matt, pat, hard, dead, coin and paste is a heavy brown colored paste which fires a dull yellow and should be burnished or polished. It comes packaged in various sizes and in many qualities. |
| ROMAN OR UNFLUXED GOLD | Both Roman and Unfluxed golds look alike, are applied the same, fire alike and are identical after firing. Some pats of gold are designated only "Burnish gold" with no other marking. They contain Roman gold and it is fluxed. Flux is the material which makes gold, or color fuse to the glass of the china in firing. Other pats are marked Burnish Gold, but the glass inside has a small label, "unfluxed" and it contains no flux. You can purchase green or white gold; green and red are bronzes, fluxed or unfluxed, and they are sold in 1/8, 1/4, 3/8,1/2 and 1 oz. jars also. Only fine quality golds are worthy of your time. |
| PREPARATION | Have china clean and dry. Clean with alcohol and lint-free
cloth. Stir gold well before mixing and work up only amount needed at one
time. Don't mix and remix golds. Mix on glass with palette knife to creamy,
spreading consistency with:
Clean fresh turpentine Lavender oil (imitation) or Gold Facilitator (lavender oil is my preference) Gold essence or Luster Essence (which are interchangeable except luster essence is slower drying) could be used; however, any of the above three are preferred. |
| APPLICATION | The gold should be just heavy enough to use brush or finger to cover the glaze; two coats are better than one heavy coat. First application of gold may be liquid bright gold, except for fine lines and the second application of Roman gold. Apply with a large brush evenly, overlapping strokes, all in one direction, pulling so there is a drag on the brush. Dry naturally before firing. |
| BRUSHES | For suggested sizes to use and the cleaning of brushes and china see first part of article. Clogged or hardened brushes may be softened by placing on a warm glass (put a lighted match under your glass used for gold.) Hardened gold may be made soft the same way; however, heated gold gets extremely hard when cooled and should, therefore, be used up. Be careful not to overheat golds. Separate small-sized palette knives for golds are an economy. Store uncleaned away from dust. |
| ROMAN GOLD | (fluxed is used on:) all hard bodied ware over some fired colors (pinks, violets, or colors which are gold mineral based.) over very weak tints fired lusters (lusters may be used on fired, burnished gold) etched china bisque unfired liquid gold, if necessary fired liquid bright gold for pen work over thin flat paste Never apply over unfired color even though color is dry except for special effects such as regal work. If color is extremely heavy like a dusted or grounded piece it is better to clean off the color with a pointed stick and apply Roman gold. Heavy color does not take gold well. |
| UNFLUXED GOLD (Hard) | is used on: soft wares (Beleek, Satsuma, some English pottery fire light and cool thoroughly Raised paste (mix gold with lavender oil and add no liquid bright gold nor turpentine.) Paste should be thoroughly dry; it is better to fire first. Fired color (sand piece before applying) fired Roman gold, or liquid bright If color is very heavy, clean off color and use Roman gold. Unfluxed gold over fired and burnished Roman gold will enhance the beauty of a piece. If the Roman gold application is ragged or dark where it met the color, the unfluxed gold will cover irregularity. |
| ROMAN AND LIQUID BRIGHT GOLD MIXTURE | To a pat of Roman add 6 or 7 drops of liquid bright gold. To 1/8 oz. jar add 80 drops of liquid bright gold and use for rims. This mixture, of course, should not be further thinned unless quite thick, then use lavender oil, gold essence or luster essence. Use Roman and bright gold mixed for rims, handles, designs, all over application, scrolls, etc. on all hard bodied or weakly tinted china. It may also be used on bisque. |
| LIQUID BURNISH GOLD | Needs no thinning but should be well shaken or stirred before
using. Keep tightly capped and it may be stored upside down. If it should
become very dry, it may be thinned with gold essence. The cheaper qualities of gold especially liquid burnish gold, are not satisfactory and will not wear well. This gold being liquid form is very easy to use. It may be applied to white china, over fired color or on Bisque. It is especially good for scrolls and fine trim on pieces getting a minimum of wear. It is excellent for etched china. |
| FIRING | (see firing chart in previous section) After at least one coat of gold is fired and burnished, refire and do not burnish for that satiny antique look or matt finish. |
| BURNISH GOLDS OVER FIRED GOLD | Over fired burnish gold will have a silver cast to it. It is very important to fire the golds at least 100 to 200 degrees F lower than the temperature used for the color. Over soft colors such as greens it is usually necessary to further lower the temperature for firing the golds. |
| BURNISHING | Burnishing, or polishing, of gold is done by using a glass brush, burnishing ribbon, burnishing sand, agate, or bloodstone burnishers, or very fine steel wool. Be careful to keep your fingers off unscoured gold. Fingerprints, perspiration or dirt will show after the gold is burnished - handle pieces with tissue paper. |
| GLASS BRUSH | Loosen ends of burnisher before using and wear heavy rubber gloves. Use in quick light strokes in one direction on rims and in circular motion for large pieces It is particularly good for embossed china. Be careful to keep away from painting materials and to wash china well after using. |
| BURNISHING RIBBON | Good for polishing gold under handles and in small holes. (note, this ribbon is a piece of the webbing used in fiberglass building or repair) |
| BURNISHING SAND | Used wet with flannel cloth over finger is the quickest and easiest way to polish large areas. Burnish in one direction lightly, and be sure to use a fine sand. Work over a pan of water, settle sand, pour off water; sand will dry and can be reused. |
| AGATE OR BLOODSTONE | Burnishers are excellent for burnishing rims and give the highest luster. A pointed agate burnisher is good for the gold on raised paste lines or around jewels. In using burnishers always rub the gold hard in one direction. the burnishers can be kept smooth by polishing with jewelers' putty and much "elbow grease." After burnishing, polish with jewelers' rouge and soft cloth for a lovely satin-like finish. |
| DISCOLORED GOLD | Old pieces may be made to look like new by polishing with a damp soft cloth dipped in baking soda or they may be refired to their original brilliancy. Remove coffee and tea stains from cups with baking soda on a damp cloth. |
| AGATE ETCHING | Pointed agate burnishers may be used to etch a design on gold. Apply gold twice, fire twice and polish twice. Apply a third application, remove from kiln and etch a design upon the unpolished gold. Or flowers, fruits and landscapes may be highlight area and then only that area is then burnished after firing, leaving the remainder of the design matt. |
| DEFECTS | If burnisher becomes black, gold is underfired if gold comes off, stop, dry then regild. If gold rubs off in burnishing, the gold is usually under- fired. if fired too high (too hard is the term) gold cannot be burnished. Regild and refire. if gold comes from the kiln rough, smooth with very fine emery paper, regild and refire. Fired gold may be removed with gold eraser or liquid china eraser. |
| SILVER | Liquid bright silver is the same type and is used like liquid bright gold. Matt silver comes prepared like matt gold. Mix with lavender oil and apply like burnished gold. Both the liquid and the matt silvers need two or three thin applications. Fire a little hotter than golds. Do not use over or next to pink or rose colors. Pure silver tarnishes very easily and white gold or platinum may be a better choice. Platinum is preferable to silver in that it wears well and does not tarnish. It is sold in paste, powder or liquid form and is used the same as golds. |
| GLASS | The gold used on glass should be a specailly prepared gold which requires a much lighter firing than that used on china. Use pure gold, mix with clean turpentine or gold facilitator. Do not use liquid bright gold when the glass will be viewed from both sides. It is better to use Roman gold very smoothly, as one firing of your glass is always wisest. To burnish the Roman gold on glass use very fine sand on a moistened soft cloth, and not the glass burnisher Glass should be cool before removing from the kiln. Fire as high as the glass will stand without distorting. Thereby getting the best adherence. The shape and thickness of the glass have a determining influence on the firing range, and ventilation is most important. (See firing chart) Paste gold (White, Roman, Green) burnish Silver and Platinum, powdered golds and Silvers, and Gold Bronzes are all available for glass as well as for china. |
| RAISED PASTE | Roman or unfluxed gold may be used over raised paste but unfluxed is preferred and is more brilliant. Do not use liquid bright gold unless you use the paste made especially for liquid bright gold. Gold on paste is referred to as Raised Gold. Apply over thoroughly and slowly dried paste (it is better to fire first) with a small pointed brush (not a liner), being careful not to go over the edge onto the china. You may leave a tiny hair line of the paste next to the china ungilded. After firing and burnishing, this line of paste will not be detected and the design will be dainty. Also there is less chance of the gold settling down onto the china making the lines heavy and unsightly. Fire the gold over the paste according to the ware and other decorations. Burnish silver may be applied over raised paste but fire the paste first. Two applications will be necessary. You may mix silver with turpentine or lavender oil. |
| LUSTERS | Gold, (preferably Roman) may be applied over fired lusters and lusters may be applied over fired, burnished gold. The gold may also be applied thinly and padded like color. The firing of the top coat should be light. Many beautiful effects may be obtained with various combinaitons of lusters, golds and other metals. |
| STAMPING | Designs may be applied by means of a rubber stamp For production needs it is best to purchase stamping bright gold but for small-scale operations liquid bright gold can be thickened to stamping consistency and used. It should be molasses-like and have tackiness which will cause a pull on the rubber stamp when applied. If stamping gold becomes too thick or dry a few drops of liquid bright gold or gold essence may be mixed in. To apply stamping gold, it is spread on a glass slab or tile with a palette knife or rubber roller. The gold is picked up with the rubber stamp and is transferred to the china. Spread gold over the glass or tile often. |
| STIPPLING | Stippling with liquid bright gold is similar to stamping except the gold is picked up with steel wool, a sponge or lamb's wool. A stippler brush, either square or slanted (deerfoot) may be used, or stippling may be done with your fingers. You may also stipple with Roman, Roman and liquid bright gold mixed, Unfluxed, or Liquid burnish golds. |
| PEN WORK | Liquid bright gold may be used in a crowquill pen, a Wrico, or other types of pens. It may be necessary to thin the gold with a drop or two of gold essence so it will flow easily. Be careful not to over-dilute. Clean pen thoroughly after using and use separate points for gold. Burnish gold may be mixed with diluting medium (nothing else to be added) and used for pen work. |
| BANDING | Good bands are usually made on a banding wheel with long deerfoot liners (cut liners) and can be gold, siver, or other metals. They should be more liquid than for painting. |
| ENAMELS | Enamels may be applied over fired gold. Jewels, dots and scrolls are effective on decorative pieces. Golds may be applied over fired enamels. Not all gilders use golds and mixing mediums in the same manner or of the same choice, any more than artists paint alike. Some of the leading gold authorities differ greatly. Learn the basic principles, experiment and then take the approach which proves most successful for you. Quality golds carefully and discretely used will assure you of many enjoyable "Adventures In Gold." - - - - - - - - - - |
| MY NOTE | I have no idea of which or how many references were used to compile this data nor whence it came other than it is in the reference library from my mother-in- law. If anyone recognizes any of the information, I will be more than happy to give the author credit for the quote. There are many references to using turpentine, even though at the beginning of the article it says not to use turpentine around and in gold. If it were an article I had written, I would eliminate all references to the use of turpentine and substitue lavender oil in its place, I surely wouldn't recommend using turpentine as either a thining or a cleaning agent around gold. Bonnie Crandall--nebraskalassie |
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