Zann Jones

Gilder Paste

2011-07-31T15:59:00.000-07:00

I bought the Imperial Eagle Crest and gilders paste from King Architectural Metals. It was the first time I have worked with gilder paste. Gilder paste seems to work best on a surface that has been sand blasted. On smooth surfaces, the gilder paste does not coat the surface very well. Even on surfaces that have been sand blasted, some colors go on like shoe polish where other colors you need to spread on like frosting for coverage. The gilder paste does give a different look compared to paint. For the Eagle Crest I like the overall appearance compared to paint. The gilder paste gives Eagle Crest an old look.

The cream, violet, yellow and rust gilder pastes are some of the colors that you need to spread like frosting for coverage. It does give the eagle an old look.

It is possible to blend multiple colors to change the overall appearance.

My overall impression of gilder paste:

The surface need to be sand blasted. Disk sanding or grinding does not provide a rough enough surface.
The coverage is not the same for all gilder paste colors. Some colors go on like shoe polish and covers the surface very well. Other colors need to be spread on thick if you want to cover the surface.
It is possible to blend multiple colors to change the overall appearance.
If you make a mistake, you can remove the gilder paste with a rag and mineral spirits.
Unlike used cans of paint, gilder paste will last forever. You can rejuvenate the gilder paste using mineral spirits.
Concerning the durability of gilder paste, I cannot tell since this is my first project.

On the Imperial Eagle Crest, I welded additional supports so the Crest would standout approximately three inches from the wall. This was so I could add blue LED backlight. The LED only use approximate 5 Watts so you could use it as a night light

Slumping Glass over Steel

2011-03-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

I wanted to slump a glass sheet over the top of two heads made out of steel. My first attempt the glass broke. The glass was too close to the heating elements in the kiln lid.

So I eliminated the steel rods supporting the heads and welded the heads directly to the steel plates. I also covered the glass with kiln shelf paper.

The combination of the two items prevented the glass from breaking. The only problem was that the glass only slumped around the edges. The steel also reacted with the air because of the high temperature. The shop vacuum cleaned up the kiln, and sand blasting cleaned up the steel head. The lessons learned: don’t use steel in the kiln – use stainless steel, and don’t expect the glass to mold itself around several objects.

Humming Bird

2011-03-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

I decided to try to make a humming bird. The tulip and the humming bird’s wings, I purchased from King Architectural Metal. The base is made of scrap pieces of steel. I covered the base using 7024 welding electrodes. I painted everything except for the base using One Shot Paint. The base was painted using DuPont ChromaClear.

Fused Glass Space Ship

2011-03-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

Another project combining steel with fused glass. The steel background is 22” by 28”. It consists of ¹/₈” steel plate with ¾” by ¹/₈” steel strap welded around the perimeter. The fit was not perfect, but I was able to bridge the gap with welding. Sometimes it takes a second attempt to eliminate the welding flaws. The surface was ground eliminating the mill scale leaving a shiny surface. The surface was painted using a transparent air brush paint. Then multiple coats of DuPont ChromaClear were sprayed on over the entire surface leaving a high gloss finish.

Fused Glass Projects

2011-03-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

I was trying to come up with some new ideals combining fused glass with steel. The two kinetic sculptures are 28 inches high, and the little guy is 21 inches. The steel was painted using One Shot Paint.

Paint Room

2011-03-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

For spray painting I added a small room in the garage. To control the overspray I have built a metal box which has a furnace filter on one side and 4 inch vent on the other side. The vent hose is connected to a dust collection system. Actually it is just the motor and fan. The system does a good job of eliminating the overspray both inside the room and outside. Because of the hassle of painting, I generally wait until I have a bunch of things to paint. The ladder is useful as a drying rack. For the final painting I generally use One Shot Paint. It is an oil based paint that I apply using a paint brush. Because of it slow drying time, painting seems to take forever. So my living room is a mess while I paint.

Wall Art

2010-12-18T17:35:00.000-08:00

The heart artwork is 23 inches high by 17 inches wide. The heart was made using 18 gauge sheet metal so I could bend it by hand. The star artwork is 21 inches wide by 16 inches high. The star, round spheres, and forged items were purchased from Kings Architectural Metals.

Air Duct Grille

2010-12-18T17:15:00.000-08:00

I decided to customize a couple of air duct grilles in my house. To provide the support for the artwork, I welded a steel frame using 1/8” thick by 3” wide steel plates. The steel frame would be attached to the wood framing behind the air duct sheet metal.

Tonka Truck

2010-12-18T16:59:00.000-08:00

I use one of my Tonka Trucks that I had when I was growing up. I left the Tonka Truck in its original state and added the rider in the back. The truck is attached to the vertical support by a small steel frame which I attached to the bottom of the Tonka Truck. The kinetic sculpture is 55 inches high.

House Number

2010-12-18T16:32:00.000-08:00

The house number is 35 inches long. The aluminum numbers are ½” thick and 5” high. I order the aluminum letters with weld tabs. Welding the number to the 18 gauge sheet metal made it difficult to paint. Because of the lack of paint behind the aluminum numbers, there will eventually be rust stains below the numbers. The next time I will try to attach the numbers by drilling and tapping. The house number is supported at both the head and at the end of the 18 gauge pendant.

Bird with Rider

2010-11-18T19:47:00.000-08:00

I original made the sculpture for attaching to the wall. I like the way it turned out so I decided to make a kinetic sculpture using the same theme. The bird has a wing span of 20 inches and the kinetic sculpture is 53 inches high. The body is a steel pipe which I tapered down for the tail and head. Most of the items I welded except for the eyes which I brazed. I did try to weld the eyes on, but I did not like the way it looked.

Horse and Rider

2010-11-18T19:37:00.000-08:00

The horse and rider sculpture is 21 inches high. The head is an 8 inch steel sphere with 2 inch brass spheres for the eyes. The brass eyes are attached using threaded rods which were drilled and tapped into the steel sphere. To prevent the threaded rod from spinning, I solder them to the head. After I welded the face and glasses on, it was obvious the eyes did not line up correctly. I ended up having to relocate one of the threaded rods. The nice thing about working with steel you can correct your mistakes.

Lamp

2010-11-18T19:21:00.000-08:00

The lamp is 29 inches high and is made entirely out of steel. To aid in the finishing of the lamp I attached the little guy using threaded rod. The Little guy was hand painted using One Shot paint. The lightning bolt and base are steel plates that were ground using a 24 grit grinding wheel. The base was air brushed using a transparent green paint. Afterward both were coated using DuPont ChromaClear Snap Dry Clearcoat. It has a flash time of 3 to 5 minute between recoats which is great since you need to apply several coats to smooth out the rough surface from the 24 grit grinding wheel. The final product is as smooth as a new car finish. The DuPont ChromaClear is expensive, but it is the only product that I found that can give you the smooth high glossy appearance like a new car finish.

Fused Glass Kinetic Sculpture

2010-11-11T16:03:00.000-08:00

The kinetic sculpture is 23 inches high. The cat and dog are fused glass and the support is painted welded steel. I enjoy trying to combine fused glass with other art mediums. When I start, I am never sure how it will turn out. But that is the fun of trying new things. Sometimes you end up with a dud; other times you think wow!

The kiln is ready for the first firing. It melts the two layers of glass into one solid piece.

The eyes and facial features are added to the fused glass which is ready for the second firing.

A close up of the dog which is ready for the second firing.

I duck taped the fused glass to the kinetic sculpture so I can take it for a test drive. If I need to make any changes, this is my last chance. My initial reaction was that it swinging motion was too fast. My other kinetic sculptures, the motion is considerably slower. So I decided to try to slow the swinging motion down.

My first attempt was to increase the weight and length of the pendulum. I duck taped a hammer to the end of the pendulum. The motion was still too fast.

My second attempt was to significantly increase the length of the pendulum. I duck taped a pipe to the pendulum. It did not seem to make much difference. So I decide to stay with the original design.

Paper Towel Holder

2010-11-11T08:12:00.000-08:00

I enjoy trying to combine fused glass with other mediums. The paper towel holder is a combination of welded steel and fused glass.

The fused glass required two separate firing. The first firing was a full fuse for the cat’s head and eyes. The second firing was a partial fuse to fused the cat’s facial features to the cat’s head. Using two firing gives the cat a two dimension look. It requires more work, but it is worth the extra effort.

To ensure the cat’s feet are level, I tacked welded the feet to a steel plate. After the cat is welded, the support plate is removed by grinding the tack welds. I was trying to prevent the cat from wobbling on three legs and it worked.

To support the fused glass, I welded a steel plate that was cut slightly smaller than the fused glass. I attached the fused glass to the steel plate using silicone.