Logo gilding how-to

[DaveLeBlanc]

About time I made an instructional video. It's quite easy and the results are often amazing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNAUn01Owg4

[Tinker73]

Dave,  great job on this video on logo gilding!  Not something that I have had a huge desire to do since the Henry Gunckel clarinets more often than not tend to have very shallow uneven stampings, but great information none the less.  May even try your method out on a few odd barrels and mouthpieces that I have laying around.

Thanks again for the information!

[DaveLeBlanc]

Dave,  great job on this video on logo gilding!  Not something that I have had a huge desire to do since the Henry Gunckel clarinets more often than not tend to have very shallow uneven stampings, but great information none the less.  May even try your method out on a few odd barrels and mouthpieces that I have laying around.

Thanks again for the information!

I work with lots of Selmer, Normandy, and LeBlanc instruments, which are all notorious for having extremely deep and solid engravings!
It's pretty fun to do, and is about the easiest and quickest way to class up an instrument.
However, like you said, there are many logos which are not deeply stamped or uneven. I've attempted to gild some of these but it just ends up looking uneven and terrible.

[Windsong]

Nice work, Dave.  I like your play-by-plays.
So, NOT on HR but plastic and wood?

[DaveLeBlanc]

Nice work, Dave.  I like your play-by-plays.
So, NOT on HR but plastic and wood?

That is correct. Hard rubber reacts terribly with the ethyl alcohol, giving it a nasty green discoloration and actually removing a bit of surface material.

[Windsong]

So, how can we guild hard rubber?  Any ideas?

[DaveLeBlanc]

So, how can we guild hard rubber?  Any ideas?

3 ways that I can think of:
1. Gold crayon
2. Hand paint with a very thin brush and a very steady hand
3. Actual gold leaf and a very thin blunt thing to get the gold in there

[Windsong]

Blimey...sounds very tricky, and too detailed and finicky for my weathered hands.  I wonder if you could use the guilding pen cautiously, and then immediately wipe it off with an almost dry lysol wipe or somesuch, or perhaps, instead of soaking the logo, work incrementally, and then immediately wipe with a ever-so-slightly damp paper towel.  All my HR clarinets are too good to experiment on.  I need to procure a basket case unworthy of restoration, and attempt various techniques, I suppose.
Thanks for the tips.

So, how can we guild hard rubber?  Any ideas?

3 ways that I can think of:
1. Gold crayon
2. Hand paint with a very thin brush and a very steady hand
3. Actual gold leaf and a very thin blunt thing to get the gold in there

[DaveLeBlanc]

Perhaps a different kind of solvent would not harm hard rubber. Acetone might work, or a paint thinner of some kind.
Just ethyl alcohol sort of eats away the rubber turning it greenish and it also gives off a nasty smell.

[Paul]

Great video. Next time I will try your way instead of a crayon