Gold Leafing

[bikebum1975]

Hey Guys
I was wondering does anyone have any experience with gold leafing on bicycles? I am toying with doing some at one point on my old bike when I get to paint her. But wondering if any of you have any tips with it. Thanks for the help

 

[karfer67]

i wanna play with that stuff too just never been brave enough to try it

 

[bikebum1975]

Yeah I hear ya on that one. Stuff ain't cheap

 

[B607]

I knew a guy that worked in the electronics industry and he gave me an envelope of gold leaf scraps. I've played with them a little. You should start by buying non gold leaf. They make a dozen different kinds that are cheap. Some are gold colored and some are bronze or silver colored. You use glue made from rabbit...from the skin I think. Most all of the real 24K gold leaf I saw comes from Thailand. I never ordered any as I was afraid to send my money to Thailand. :? With a bit of practice, I don't think it would be that difficult to learn. Gary

 

[humanmachinehead]

I'm a pretty avid pinstriper, especially for my age, but i've never tryed true goldleaf. I have used some cheap knock-off stuff, and it sucks. One shot is the only thing i stripe with, and they make something called a "sizing" which is put down, left to tac up, then the leafing is applied. I've also heard of my buddies grandpa using the "imitation gold" color instead of sizing. That way if there are a few imperfections, its alot harder to notice. Might be a good trick for starting out too. Just be sure and thin it down some and put it on slick, otherwise the globs will show thro. I'm dying to try some, but its a bit pricey when you've been affected by the overwhelming unemployment of the country

hope that helps

 

[sensor]

try looking at letterheads.com.......im pretty sure they have tip on doing it(personally id start with brass first while you learn since its alot cheaper :wink: )

 

[hewey]

Check out this on sketchkult forum (no longer active, but a tonne of good resources on there)
http://sketchkult.com//phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1213