Gilderspaste.com - Baroque Art Gilders Paste

Q: Why do you spell the word Guild as Gild without the letter "u"?

A:

GILD:

Pronunciation: 'gild
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): gild·ed /'gil-d&d/; or gilt /'gilt/; gild·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English gyldan; akin to Old English gold gold
Date: 14th century
1 : to overlay with or as if with a thin covering of gold
2 a : to give money to

b : to give an attractive but often illusory appearance to

GUILD:

Pronunciation: 'gild
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English gilde, from Old Norse gildi payment, guild; akin to Old English gield tribute, guild
Date: 14th century
: an association of people with similar interests or pursuits; especially: a medieval association of merchants or craftsmen

We are always interested to hear from our customers, good or bad, so we may educate by explaining tips and techniques used. If you do decide to experiment with our Gilders Paste, call us (1-800-825-0029), please take before and after pictures, and we will try to help from our experience. We can use your project on our web site, advertisements, or brochures and cite your work.

Q: The product is hard, is there anything I can do to rejuvenate the product.

A: Yes, just add a few drops of either; paint thinner, mineral spirits, turpentine or Turpenoid (turpentine substitute) knife in and mix. You're ready to go. The ability to rejuvenate this product allows a long shelve life. There is no need to mix up the whole tin, just mix what you need as you need it. Gilders Paste goes a long way. (see “Coverage”)

Important: Do not use any oil base cleaners/solvents such as Turpenoid Natural. The oil content of these type of cleaners/solvents will not allow the Gilders Paste to dry and will remain wet or tacky for days to weeks. If you have accidentally used this type cleaner/solvent leave the tin open until completely dried out and then follow the suggestion for rejuvenation above.

Q: Have you tried this paste on a hard-shelled gourd?

A: Yes, Our Gilders Paste has been used and tested on Gourds. It is recommended to etch the skin of the gourd with a solvent like paint thinner, acetone or lightly sand the shell with fine dry/wet sandpaper or fine steel wool. If surface is to smooth or dirty the Gilders Paste will not attached to the gourd and flaking will occur over time. (See "Rattan" questions and Wood Page)

Q: Will the color fade in sunlight?

A: No fading.

Gilders Paste is formulated with the latest metallic, organic, synthetic and iron oxides with the highest color fastness available. While there are other pigments with color fastness properties, we feel that the chemical compositions of these other pigments are not user friendly to our customers or to the environment such as lead chromates.

Initial testing showed some colors did fade or slightly faded. This has been corrected after further testing determined that the surface preparation was not sufficient and the Gilders Paste was falling off due to lack of mechanical tooth and what was left over was a staining effect of the Gilders Paste. (see “Surface Preparation”)

We recommend for application where excessive handling or for exterior applications that a solvent-based ultra violet (UV) resistant clear coat be applied such as an acrylic, lacquer or clear powder coating.

Krylon UV resistance spray gloss coating - Krylon UV resistant spray matt coating.
A solvent-precatalyzed lacquer such as Guardsman/Lilly adds a UV block to their coatings that provides no change at all in direct sunlight.

Ultra Violet (UV) resistant polyester clear powder coat has been used as well. Gilders Paste has been applied on ambient metal castings and put through the baking process where the casting reached 375° F (190° C) and booth temperature of 410° F (210° C) with no discoloration or alteration to the colors or placement of the colors.

Ask your local paint store to suggest an exterior UV clear coat. (See "Exterior Use" questions)

NOTE: If displayed inside, it is not necessary to over coat, unless excessive handling is an issue.

We are always interested to hear from our customers, good or bad, so we may educate by explaining tips and techniques used. If you do decide to experiment with our Gilders Paste, call us (1-800-825-0029), please take before and after pictures, and we will try to help from our experience. We can use your project on our web site, advertisements, or brochures and cite your work.

Q: I read where you can use this for wood. Could it be used on Rattan the natural vine that is used to make baskets? Are there problems with handling on object that had your paste applied to it? The dye we can obtain for baskets fades in the sun. Does this fade?

A: Yes Gilders paste can be used on rattan as well as wood and we recommend a top clear coat over applications that will have continuous handling. Gilders paste does no fade.

Please also read – “Surface Preparation” , “Color Fastness” and “Clear Coating” sections

We are always interested to hear from our customers, good or bad, so we may educate by explaining tips and techniques used. If you do decide to experiment with our Gilders Paste, call us (1-800-825-0029), please take before and after pictures, and we will try to help from our experience. We can use your project on our web site, advertisements, or brochures and cite your work.

Q: I see Gilders Paste used on a gate on your site. Is it really for external use? Is a clear coat applied over the top?

A: Yes, Yes and Yes.

Gilders Paste is used for exterior applications. We recommend using an ultra violet (UV) stable clear coat recommend buy your local paint store. Clear coats such as lacquer, acrylic and clear powder coating has been used to topcoat over Gilders Paste for added protection or over all appearance for outside projects. (See "Color Fastness" and “Clear Coating” sections)

NOTE: If displayed inside, it is not necessary to over coat, unless excessive handling is an issue.

We are always interested to hear from our customers, good or bad, so we may educate by explaining tips and techniques used. If you do decide to experiment with our Gilders Paste, call us (1-800-825-0029), please take before and after pictures, and we will try to help from our experience. We can use your project on our web site, advertisements, or brochures and cite your work.

Q: I was wondering if, after curing of the Paste, what would remove it?

A: Solvents (paint thinner, minerals spirits, turpentine, lacquer thinner), wire brush, paint scrapper, sand blasting.

Note: Gilders Paste can also be removed with a cloth within 15 minutes of application. The longer you wait the harder it will be to remove.

Q: What solvent and dilution ratio do you recommend for 'normal' spraying with a spray bottle?

A: We would recommend asking your local commercial paint store personnel about what to use for solvent and dilution ratio. There are several different ways and we do not have the answers to all variations as to viscosity needed to operate your spray system, nozzle/orifice size and pressure. However, if you just mix a little paint thinner or mineral spirits with the gilders paste it will dilute the paste into a stain that has been sprayed. One note to think about is that when you spray, some pigments, depending on dilution ratio and the color that you choose, will settle in the holding tank. We recommend agitating the solution regularly to keep particles suspended. Also when you spray the metallic colors the pigments will spray at the path of least resistance (like a disk) to the substrate. After spraying, the substrate may look uneven or even rough, wait about 12 hours and wipe down with a soft cloth. This technique is used when applying to wood furniture and the results are like gold leaf.

We suggest consulting your local commercial paint store for further advice.

Q: Is it possible to achieve a 'runny look' where 'run marks' are apparent?

A: Yes.

Here are a few ways to achieve a "runny look". Apply Gilders Paste and spray, pour or splash mineral spirits/paint thinner on top of Gilders Paste. Mix Gilders Paste with solvent and splash, spray or pour on substrate. Mixing with solvent will give you control by adding just enough so the Gilders Paste will drip on or run on.

We are always interested to hear from our customers, good or bad, so we may educate by explaining tips and techniques used. If you do decide to experiment with our Gilders Paste, all us (1-800-825-0029), please take before and after pictures, and we will try to help from our experience. We can use your project on our web site, advertisements, or brochures and cite your work.

Q: Would your paste work on metal such as silver and copper?

A: Yes.

We have metal smiths that use Gilders Paste on Silver and Copper. The surface of this type of application is typically smooth and an etching solution such as used for etching glass works well as does Sparex. Sparex is a cleaning solution used in the jewelry industry for cleaning gold and silver. This product will also work on other smooth metal surfaces such as copper. The Sparex will etch the metal the longer it is left on as will a glass etching solution.

This will produce a mechanical tooth to the surface needed to prep the surface for good adhesion. If the surface is to smooth the Gilders Pate over time will flake off, because there is nothing to hold on to.

We are always interested to hear from our customers, good or bad, so we may educate by explaining tips and techniques used. If you do decide to experiment with our Gilders Paste, call us (1-800-825-0029), please take before and after pictures, and we will try to help from our experience. We can use your project on our web site, advertisements, or brochures and cite your work.

Q: How do you know the surface is prepared properly?

A: Porous materials such as cement, wood, ceramic, bisque ware, paper, gourds, polymer clay, traditional clay, modeling clay, paper mashie, decoupage, foam and alike all have a mechanical tooth which is a proper surface for Gilders Paste to attach to.

Other material such as wrought iron, metal castings, hand forgings, mild steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, silver, glass, gloss painted surfaces, plastics, and other type of substrates need the surface to be distressed by either, sand blasting with fine silica sand, 400 grit sand paper, etching solution such as a glass etching solution or Sparex, coarse steel wool, wire brush or painted with a primer coat. You want to treat Gilders Paste as a finish coat.

Also make sure the surface is free of all surface containments such as, water, scale, dirt, grease, oil are removed.

Q: How much will Gilder Paste cover.

A: Gilders Paste will cover approximately 25 square feet (2.32 meters) per ounce. Coverage can vary depending on the amount of solvent used from application to application, the type of applicator used and by the desired finished or texture being created.