Wanted: An Elegant Sign, Part 2

The gilded age
To create an attractive border, I hand-routed a bead-and-cove profile along the panel’s entire periphery. After having applied the size, I gilded the border with 23k, patent gold. For all other applications, I use 23½k, loose goldleaf. Generally, full goldleaf sheets can’t be conveniently used, so we cut the sheets with a gilder's knife and apply the cut sheets with a gilder's tip. When the gilding is complete, we carefully remove the vinyl mask using a pair of scissors, tweezers and an X-Acto® knife. The vinyl must never be pulled toward the letter’s edge, because this could remove the goldleaf. One should pull only the mask at a 90˚ angle to the edge.

We incorporated a carved American eagle appliqué and six stars to the design. Fortunately, producing them was relatively easy, because we’d previously made molds of these appliqués for the earlier GSA project. We needed only to make castings of these items and gild them (see ST, May 2003, page 40). Dusting the black eagle and star appliqués helped reveal the colorless size as I applied it. After the slow size had cured for 48 hours, I began gilding. I use surfaced gold for this sign face because patent gold wouldn’t have produced satisfactory results.

I attached appliqués to the panel with studs and silicone. I attached the castings prior to gilding to avoid touching gilded areas. For the eagle, I twisted three, threaded, aluminum studs into pre-drilled holes. Fortunately, the studs self-tap into the polyurethane, plastic-resin castings. I positioned the appliqués and studs over the design pattern, marked the stud locations and drilled holes into the panel. I poured silicone into the drilled holes and on the studs and attached the appliqués.

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A private sign
Ready for the installation, I called the agent for instructions. We were to call him when we reached a pre-determined location. At this point, he instructed us to meet him on a particular street. After I parked, he led me and my installation gear to a door with a secure-entry keypad.

An elevator took us to a floor with unmarked doors, save one with a modest sign that read, “Smith and Associates.” I couldn’t resist asking, “Is that a cover name?” “Affirmative,” he replied as he punched numbers into the keypad.

We entered the office, made our measurements, drilled into the wall and installed the panel. The people in the office were all very pleased. Then, as I always do for a completed installation, I set up my tripod and digital camera. Seeing these preparations, the agent appeared and stated emphatically that no photographs were permitted. “Why?” I sheepishly inquired. He bellowed, “Because the FBI does not allow photographs in here!”

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There you have it. The FBI got the elegant sign it wanted, but I was left without a completed installation shot!

Equipment and Materials
Brushes: Lettering quills, available from Andrew Mack & Son Brush Co. (Jonesville, MI), (517) 849-9272 or www.mackbrush.com.

Casting: Smooth-On OOMOO-30 moldmaking compound, SmoothCast 300 casting material and So-Strong® color dyes, available from Smooth-On. (Easton, PA), (800) 762-0744 or www.smooth-on.com.

Coatings: Minwax wood-finish stain, McCloskey Man O’ War spar varnish, and General Finishes high-performance, waterbased varnish, available from home-improvement stores.

Design: Macintosh PowerMac G5, from Apple Inc. (Cupertino, CA), (408) 996-1010 or www.apple.com; Adobe Illustrator® software, from Adobe (San Jose, CA), (408) 536-6000, or www.adobe.com; Laserjet 2200d inkjet printer, from Hewlett-Packard (Palo Alto, CA), (650) 857-1501 or www.hp.com; Clearprint drafting and design vellum, available from Dick Blick Art Materials (Galesburg, IL), (800) 828-4548 or www.dickblick.com.

Gilding: LeFranc Charbonnel slow size, 23½k ducat, loose-leaf double gold, gilder’s tip and knife, avail¬able from Sepp Leaf Products (NYC), (800) 971-7377 or www.seppleaf.com; USP-grade kaolin, available from Soap Crafters Co. (Salt Lake City), (801) 484-5121 or www.soapcrafters.com.

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Substrate: Mahogany sign panel, available from Kenco (Buffalo), (800) 757-9142 or www.kenco¬woodproducts.com; Gerber Mask I, available from Garston Sign Supply (Rochester, NY), (800) 825-8808 or www.garston.com.

Tools: Saber saw; power drill and bits, and Visegrip®, sandpaper, available from home-improve¬ment stores; No. 1 straight chisels and No. 2 sweep gouges, available from Woodcraft Supply LLC (Parkersburg, WV), (800) 535-4482 or www.wood¬craft.com; aluminum studs, available from Gemini Inc. (Cannon Falls, MN), (800) 538-8377 or www.signletters.com.