Gold brush plating wood artifacts

A. OK, one more time. Brush plating is extremely operator sensitive! You obviously have not done any homework on brush plating or you would know that it takes several solutions with different voltages as well as some are reverse current. You would also then know that the amperage is dependent on the size of the "brush" , the liquid used and flow rate if a flow thru system. Start by contacting one or more brush plate vendors in your country. They can look at what you are trying to do and make recommendations. NO one can answer the question as you have asked it. Are you ready to spend several thousand dollars (US) on this project to find out that it might not work? Finally, you say that what you have does not work. How is anyone supposed to know what did not work if you do not tell us in great detail what you tried. Some people here are good, but none are mind readers.

A. I would agree with Cair and would gild the objects with real gold leaf. It would be less expensive to set up and can be learned quickly. I make hand-carved wooden signs and apply gold leaf to the letters, after priming and painting.

In essence, gold size is very carefully applied, with a small brush, only to those areas in which gold is desired. When the size has dried to a certain tackiness, the leaf is picked up with a special brush (a gilder's tip) and is first laid upon the tacky size. It is then tapped in with the gilder's tip and finally scrubbed in and burnished with a very soft, large brush. A $3 fat, dark brown, women's make-up brush from Walmart works fine.

Gold size is available in either fast or slow varieties. I prefer the slow, which will be ready to gild after 12 hours. The best brand of size is LeFranc, which (along with a gilder's tip) can be obtained from a gold leaf supplier.

A week ago, I paid $427.00 for 500, 3 3/8" X 3 3/8" sheets of 23 3/4 karat leaf. This will cover about 20 sq.ft., with the typical 50% waste. It can also be bought in 25 leaf packages for about $30. Gold leaf can be bought in about any karat, from 14K (58.3% pure) to 24K (99.9% pure).

Gold leaf is soft and scratches easily. If, and only if, the objects are to be used indoors, some sort of protective clear-coat can be used, although it will slightly dull the gold.

If you need more detailed info, just ask.

A. IS THE CONDUCTIVE PAINT YOU USED HOME MADE? IF IT IS SO YOU WILL HAVE RAISINS IN A CAKE, MEANING YOU'LL HAVE A NONCONDUCTIVE GLUE FILM OVER YOUR POWDER. OTHERWISE TRY TO INCREASE VOLTAGE UP TO 30 VOLTS. IT MAY WORK AND DON'T PUT PRESSURE ON THE BRUSH OR YOU'LL SCRUB OFF THE COATING.

P.S. IF YOU USE A DUTCH FOIL GILDING YOU CAN BRUSH PLATE OVER IT IF YOU WISH.

GOOD LUCK GOD BLESS

A. Hi Ananiadis. You can buy brush plating formulations from brush plating specialists, and part of your problem may be the plating solution rather than the metallizing layer. Brush plating solutions are generally much more concentrated than tank plating solutions, and might possibly include thickening agents like fumed silica or barium compounds. If you are trying to brush plate with dilute solutions you probably need excessive voltages, and therefore run into problems with the limited conductivity of the metallized layer.

Regards,

A. Hi, Ananiadis. Chrome can be stripped with hydrochloric acid and no need for electricity, or it can be stripped with anodic current and an alkaline (caustic) solution.

Regards,