Gold leaf sign writing on fascia board.
A form of promoting a business in a high end way, with a professional look, that never tends to go out of style is gold leaf sign writing on the shop front fascia.
It just has such a sleek great look, especially with a black background colour. It can work well with other colours too & that is what seems to change in style, with certain colours becoming more en vouge.
In the last few years its been very much dark greys or a shade of teal. This project was one that went with a dark grey to near black background in a matte finish.
This again is very on trend as the old style of a glossy finish tends to seem outdated. Trends seem to go with interior decor these days, especially given the range of paint colours available in water based paints.
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Producing gold leaf sign writing is as much about preparation as it is about production.
When a client, like with this project has their premises fascia board re-freshed, generally with new wood panels, which have had a good covering of an undercoat & topcoat of paint as a minimum.
You do tend to find some builders/shopfitters don’t do a sufficient job for a well prepared fascia panel. This is generally an issue which can affect the job for the sign writer. It leads to issues the sign writer could avoid if the preparation of the panel is done well.
Not just for traditional sign writers, as it can lead to vinyl lettering not sticking to the fascia surface well.
So, the smoother & more prepared with layers of paint the better for the sign writing.
The preparation a sign writer is required to do before producing gold leaf sign writing, is to have measurements of the fascia panel, have a digital artwork of all the lettering required, along with a design of the lettering placements & sizing.
Then a paper layout artwork is produced which is taken to site. This is used to relief the design/artwork onto the fascia panel using a form of chalk.
This allows the lettering to be seen & used as a guide for where to paint them. To do this the paper artwork/s have to be positioned correctly on the fascia, so the panel requires measuring to ensure all lettering is correctly placed & level.
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In order to apply the gold to the fascia panel more prep is required. To make sure gold doesn’t stick to any area other than the lettering, powder is applied. Once this is done the sign writing is produced one digit at a time.
Producing this, a mixture of specialist glue is used, along with some paint, which is to make the painted strokes visable.
A specialist sign writing brush is used, which is sized to suit the lettering being produced.
It may not be as simple as producing in ‘one stroke’ but can be a case of building up the letters ensuring every letter or digit as crisp neat edges & good form.
Without this the letter or number looses shape & then it would look not as neat as a vinyl signage.
Ultimately the client is wishing for as neat as possible, this should be acknowledged just as much as an appreciation for being produced by hand & therefore room for human error & imperfections.
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With this project there was little time to take process shots of the work being produced. This can be dependant on how the weather is or how much wording there is to produce or just how large a fascia is being produced.
I tend to concentrate on producing a quality product rather than good images for advertising purposes. I like to think the finished product is what sells it.
Once the paint & glue mix as nearly set/dried and is just slightly tacky, the gold leaf sign writing is created. The leaves of gold are applied one by one & rubbed onto the lettering. The gold should stick to the painted letters & nothing else.
You can get some excess gold attach, but this is then ‘burnished’ off using a specilaist soft brush & a damp cloth. The damp cloth also removes the powder & any pencil markings.
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Skill & care is taken to create each letter & this is labour intensive. It does give a better finish than any vinyl in a gold colour can provide & that is where producing gold leaf sign writing has an advantage, not just for trade as a sign writer but also it provides a far superior curb appeal for a client’s business.
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The completed works looks neat & crisp. The gold looks yellow in bright sunshine, but can also shimmer & almost illuminates under street lighting. It all depends on the angle you look at it as the gold leaf rebounds the light.
The client on this occasion was after something traditional, as it complimented the retail shop operating as a showroom. The showroom/retail outlet is late victorian in age, but also the company provides vintage radiators to properties wishing for that vinatge appeal within their homes or restaurants. The typeface chosen was also in a vintage style, in the form of an art deco type, so hinting at the 1930s.
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Hand Painted Traditional & Contemporary Sign writing in London
Sign writer: Traditional Signs of London
info@traditionalsignsoflondon.uk