Re: Wood panel preparation (Keith?)

[Keith Gerling <keith.gerling@gmail.com>]

Hi Loris!

The #1 formula you present is very similar to the one I use with great
success:  1:1 Liquitex acrylic gesso to water and then to that 1:1
dilute gesso to pumice by volume.  That produces a surface that acts
very similar to paper, so I size it with gelatin and hardener.  This
mix is very good for coating porous surfaces such as wood, plaster
(spackle-ed wood) and old gumprints on paper.  For surfaces such as
aluminum and glass, bubbles of water tend to form between the surface
and the gesso with long soaks.  For these surfaces I do not use
acylic, preferring to mix up a concoction of gelatin, pumice and
marble powder.  I haven't used this in a while and I haven't reduced
it to a recipe, but essentially it is a gelatin mix (the same as used
for sizing paper) with 50% pumice and marble.  It produces a surface
that is so hard that it is actually very hard to remove even with a
belt sander!

Hope this helps



On Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 2:30 AM, Loris Medici <mail@loris.medici.name> wrote:
> I will try to print gum on wood panels (marine grade plywood). I will try
> two different grounds: 1) Acrylic ground + whiting (I presume that's what
> you do Keith?) 2) Traditional gesso ground...
>
> 1) Keith, what is your acrylic formula? I plan to dilute acrylic gesso 1:1
> with water and then add equal amnt. of calcium carbonate (marble dust) and
> some white pigment into it. For instance: 50g acrylic gesso + 50ml water +
> 50g calcium carbonate + 10g titanium dioxide (titanium white -> purest /
> brightest white pigment).
>
> 2) Traditional gesso: 100ml water + 10g hide (or rabbitskin) glue (high
> bloom gelatin) + 60g calcium carbonate + 12g titanium white.
>
> I need a good working recipe and application (and finishing) procedure for
> #2. BTW, traditional gesso is a PIA! (Have to keep it hot + it doesn't set
> quickly, so takes awfully long to complete 4 - 6 layers...)
>
> Another questions:
>
> 1. Do you harden the traditional gesso ground?
>
> 2. Do you add a hardened gelatin layer on top of the acrylic (or
> traditional gesso) ground?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Loris.
>
>