Rene
I have experimented with gold foil and it can be Kumbooed. If I
remember it took about three applications to look like .03 � .05mm
24K gold. Also, I use an electric heat adjustable hot plate which
works great. Lab supply houses carry this type of hot plate. It is
also great for applying PNP resist and believe it or not tempering
gravures.
George Hebner
ghebner@artsights.com
Have any of you tried the foil method, hopefully with some success?
How might the procedure need to be modified when using the foil? Are
there any specific suggestions you can make, pitfalls to avoid?
The foil can be used, if you cut several pieces the same. The gold
will adhere to the gold, which then adheres to the silver. The problem
with the thin foil, one layer thick, is that it can virtually
disappear into the silver because of the diffusion bonding. You may
find the effect too subtle to your liking. However, there is a place
out there that sells kumboo leaf pre-made. Try contacting Donna Wilson
in Wyoming for her resource.
Also, pertaining to the article, she uses gum tragacanth (as an
adhesive, I assume). None of you has mentioned that you use this in
your process. Is it necessary?
The gum is just to paste the foil down to keep it from flying away,
especially with very thin pieces. Spit works just as well. Lick your
brush, pick up the foil, use a toothpick to slide/transfer the foil to
the metal from the brush. Heavier foils stay in place without any kind
of “glue”.
Have fun, Rene! K.P. in WY
Have any of you tried the foil method, hopefully with some success?
How might the procedure need to be modified when using the foil? Are
there any specific suggestions you can make, pitfalls to avoid?
The foil can be used, if you cut several pieces the same. The gold
will adhere to the gold, which then adheres to the silver. The problem
with the thin foil, one layer thick, is that it can virtually
disappear into the silver because of the diffusion bonding. You may
find the effect too subtle to your liking. However, there is a place
out there that sells kumboo leaf pre-made. Try contacting Donna Wilson
in Wyoming for her resource.
Also, pertaining to the article, she uses gum tragacanth (as an
adhesive, I assume). None of you has mentioned that you use this in
your process. Is it necessary?
The gum is just to paste the foil down to keep it from flying away,
especially with very thin pieces. Spit works just as well. Lick your
brush, pick up the foil, use a toothpick to slide/transfer the foil to
the metal from the brush. Heavier foils stay in place without any kind
of “glue”.
Have fun, Rene! K.P. in WY
Rene - I have done kum boo with enamelists’ gold foil - I did it 5-6
years ago long before I realized it was too thin according to most
people. I used the Metals Technic article by Okim and simply followed
her directions using the the gum adhesive (I probably just used Klyr
fire inasmuch as I enamel). The result worked for me - it wasn’t
perfect in that it required the application of several layers, the
gold was somewhat varied in its color due to the fact that it was
thicker (several layers) in parts than in others, and I found that
there were pieces that did not adhere. I would remove those and
begin. With perseverence, it worked. I then used liver of sulphur
and, as I indicated I was very pleased with the result. I did the Kum
Boo technique on a portion of a brooch which was designed to look like
a stone or a pebble - so the fact that there were slight color
variations through the gold when I finished the application was just
fine. Hope this helps. By the way, Rene, I sent an e-mail almost a
week ago congratulating you on the article in Lapidary Journal -
didn’t see it in the mix of messages so thought I would say it again
in case you didn’t get it. Nice article and nice work! Sheridan Reed