Gold paint

[Frank S]

I have done some carving which needs to be painted with gold paint, so I would like some advice on things like what undercoat do I use, and will I need to give the carvings a coat of clear varnish when finished. All help will be much appreciated, thanks.
Frank S.

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

Gold paint will always turn dull and green because it is mostly made with brass powder. Have you considered oil (mordant) gilding? If you have not tried it before, it is really quite easy and you will get much better results.

 

[sunnybob]

I used hammerite gold paint on some rawlbolt heads that hold my pergola to the concrete floor. It's been out in our weather for over 6 years now (and it gets baked by the sun in weather that reads over 40c in the shade and even the occasional light frost in winter) and it still looks gold coloured. Faded gold admittedly, but still gold.

 

[ED65]

Interior or exterior application Frank?

I have done some carving which needs to be painted with gold paint, so I would like some advice on things like what undercoat do I use

Undercoating can be considered nearly obsolete these days but when doing a gold or other metallics a coloured undercoat can still be desirable for a couple of reasons, e.g. if you want to create a faux aged look.

Primer on the other hand is still a good idea. Although paint does stick to bare wood very well you'll generally get a better result if you prime the wood first. With glossy and metallic paints the primer helps smooth any slight texture in the substrate and in wood it will seal off end grain and reduce its absorbency, helping to give a more uniform sheen in fewer coats of paint.

and will I need to give the carvings a coat of clear varnish when finished.

In the past metallics definitely benefited from being varnished or lacquered because it helped protect the pigment from the atmosphere and added some much-needed scuff resistance (metallic paints were infamous for being a little fragile).

Most paints now are made not to need a clear overcoat, but if this needs to withstand handling varnishing might still be advisable. It largely depends on what paint you go with and how it's formulated.

If the carving is fairly shallow you can likely spray paint it effectively and there are some really good metallic paints now available in spraycans. If it's carved in the round and particularly if there are any deep undercuts spraying may only be feasible if you have an airbrush, in which case a brushable paint may then become necessary (or you can decant some paint from the spraycan and brush apply to those areas).

 

[ED65]

Gold paint will always turn dull and green because it is mostly made with brass powder.

Brass-pigmented gold paints were common and are still made, but most 'metallic' paint is now made using mica. Some better ones will use a bismuth pigment, the same thing used to give glitter or a metallic gleam to many cosmetics.

In either case the metallic component is chemically stable, so mostly we're only left needing to worry about weathering of the vehicle leading to dulling as Bob makes reference to.

 

[Frank S]

Thanks for all the advice. The carving is for indoor use only but will be handled a fair bit, so, undercoat, brush paint and clear varnish should do the job fine. Thanks again.
Frank S.

 

[Copes]

Montana make a good gold chrome spray, if you do a bit of googling there's quite a few comparison tests and it usually comes out looking the most "authentic"