So I purchased this amazing infinity gauntlet prop replica kit from rpf member Shotzy a little while back and immediately got to work on it. Here is where I'm at so far:
This is GENUINE 23.5k Gold leaf. I used a multi-step process ancient water gilding technique to apply the gold. Nothing quite captures the light like gold . . . :cool
Below are the build pics:
Here is how the raw cast kit arrived to me
After some initial clean-up
All the pieces arranged into gauntlet form
Now, I knew I wanted to do something special for the finish. At first I thought I might try a molotow pen and then tint it gold, but the results weren't quite what I was looking for. I also tried chrome gold vinyl wrap, but the details were just too much for it, even with stretching it to the max with a heat gun. I finally decided on gold leaf since I had some previous experience with it, but more on that later.
I also wanted to use real metal rivets to add an additional layer of quality and variety in materials. So I drilled holes where each rivet would go. At this point I also drilled the holes for the removable infinity stones I have planned.
I also found a pair of suede welder's gloves to use as a base that worked perfectly!
All together now
Here is a test fit for the lights that I'll be using for the gems. As I said before, each of these will be removable. I'm going to cast some smaller faceted cabochons for the knuckles, but the light up stones that I've already made fit perfect for the larger centerpiece.
More on my light up infinity stones here: https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=226188
Now, on to the gold leafing! Here is a sheet of 23.5k gilders gold leaf. Genuine gold leaf usually comes in 3 1/8" or 3 3/8" sheets. The fake metal leaf is usually larger.
At first I tried just using water sizing to cut some corners. It turned out pretty good, but it still wasn't giving me that ultra reflective shine I was going for.
With traditional water gilding, there are no shortcuts. It's a pretty intensive multi-step process, but the results are worth it!
The first step is to prepare your surface. I sanded and sprayed each piece with a clear coat. This actually turned out to be a mistake really. I should have sanded and gessoed the surface to give it more tooth. I discovered this fault much later on in the process after it was too late.
Second I needed to create some rabbit skin glue. The rabbit skin comes in dried granules, much like raw sugar. It must be melted in a double boiler at the proper temp after soaking in water overnight. Too low it won't melt, too high and it looses it's adhesive properties. Her in this pic you can see my RSG in the center and some special gilder's burnishing clay on the left. The two must be mixed together to create a bole.
The mixture must remain warm to stay thin enough for applying. I constantly had to keep reheating it to stay at the proper temp. Multiple coats of bole must be applied with sanding in between coats.
All in all, 5-6 coats should be applied, but I only did 4 because I was eager to get to the gold leafing!
I also should have spent more time sanding, but I'm a bit impatient. Here is what one of the finger pieces looks like after a few coats.
Gold leafing requires some special tools as well. Here is a squirrel hair gilder's tip brush for picking up and applying the gold sheets and an agate burnishing tool to burnish the clay after the gold has been applied.
True gold leaf is soo thin that you can literally see through it. It has been beaten to four millionths of an inch in thickness! And it will practically dissolve between your fingers if you touch it with your bare hands.
Here is a really cool vid to show how gold leaf is made for those interested:
It is also extremely difficult to handle as it floats like a feather in the air. If there is any kind of draft at all, forget about it!
That is where the squirrel hair brush comes in. I have a vintage one made in W Germany.
I use a very small amount of chapstick on my wrist that I drag the fibers across to give it very little tack. Static electricity can work too.
I almost forgot to mention another step. Once all the bole has been applied then a special mixture of thinned down RSG with distilled water and alcohol is used to re-wet the surface and reactivate the adhesive properties of the RSG in the clay. This is called 'gilder's liquor'. You can use isopropyl alcohol, but that's no fun, so I used a platinum top shelf tequila
Once you get close to the wet surface, maybe about 1/4 of an inch away the gold will 'suck' to the surface, almost like it's magnetically attracted.
After an initial coat of the the pieces.
As you can see there are quite a few cracks in the finish. These happen as part of the process where folds in the gold occur, or in places where the gilder's liquor has set into the clay too quickly. They will be filled in later with smaller pieces of gold leaf scrap. Here you can also see some issues where all the layers have delaminated from the surface down to the white resin on the cuff in the background. I had to completely re-do these areas.
After letting the pieces dry for a bit I got to burnishing. This is where the magic happens if you've done everything correctly the agate stone will burnish the bole underneath the gold to give it a nice reflective surface.
I didn't get it to a full mirror finish since I didn't spend enough time sanding and applying the multiple layers of bole, but I figured this gauntlet was going to be some kind of ancient relic, hundreds of thousands of years old. So the surface had developed some imperfections over the years
Before filling in all the gaps and nooks I had to do a quick test fit
After running around the house for about an hour with it on and teasing my wife with the absolute power I was about to wield once I had collected all the stones from across the Cosmic Universe . . . I got back to business and filled in the areas that were still lacking gold. For the very fine cracks and super small areas that I wasn't able to work the gold into I used a gold mica powder. Here are the results in low light:
And with a single light source shining down on it to really show off the glow of it all:
And that's where I'm at so far. I might end up using this for a full Thanos cosplay or at least to wear to the premier of Avengers Infinity War. I still need to add all the metal rivets, attach the pieces to the glove permanently and weather the whole thing with a casein. Then of course, add the INFINITY STONES! At which point there will be no stopping my Absolute and Unlimited Powers!
Subscribe to this thread and stay tuned for more if your interested to see how it all turns out. :cheers
This is GENUINE 23.5k Gold leaf. I used a multi-step process ancient water gilding technique to apply the gold. Nothing quite captures the light like gold . . . :cool
Below are the build pics:
Here is how the raw cast kit arrived to me
After some initial clean-up
All the pieces arranged into gauntlet form
Now, I knew I wanted to do something special for the finish. At first I thought I might try a molotow pen and then tint it gold, but the results weren't quite what I was looking for. I also tried chrome gold vinyl wrap, but the details were just too much for it, even with stretching it to the max with a heat gun. I finally decided on gold leaf since I had some previous experience with it, but more on that later.
I also wanted to use real metal rivets to add an additional layer of quality and variety in materials. So I drilled holes where each rivet would go. At this point I also drilled the holes for the removable infinity stones I have planned.
I also found a pair of suede welder's gloves to use as a base that worked perfectly!
All together now
Here is a test fit for the lights that I'll be using for the gems. As I said before, each of these will be removable. I'm going to cast some smaller faceted cabochons for the knuckles, but the light up stones that I've already made fit perfect for the larger centerpiece.
More on my light up infinity stones here: https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=226188
Now, on to the gold leafing! Here is a sheet of 23.5k gilders gold leaf. Genuine gold leaf usually comes in 3 1/8" or 3 3/8" sheets. The fake metal leaf is usually larger.
At first I tried just using water sizing to cut some corners. It turned out pretty good, but it still wasn't giving me that ultra reflective shine I was going for.
With traditional water gilding, there are no shortcuts. It's a pretty intensive multi-step process, but the results are worth it!
The first step is to prepare your surface. I sanded and sprayed each piece with a clear coat. This actually turned out to be a mistake really. I should have sanded and gessoed the surface to give it more tooth. I discovered this fault much later on in the process after it was too late.
Second I needed to create some rabbit skin glue. The rabbit skin comes in dried granules, much like raw sugar. It must be melted in a double boiler at the proper temp after soaking in water overnight. Too low it won't melt, too high and it looses it's adhesive properties. Her in this pic you can see my RSG in the center and some special gilder's burnishing clay on the left. The two must be mixed together to create a bole.
The mixture must remain warm to stay thin enough for applying. I constantly had to keep reheating it to stay at the proper temp. Multiple coats of bole must be applied with sanding in between coats.
All in all, 5-6 coats should be applied, but I only did 4 because I was eager to get to the gold leafing!
I also should have spent more time sanding, but I'm a bit impatient. Here is what one of the finger pieces looks like after a few coats.
Gold leafing requires some special tools as well. Here is a squirrel hair gilder's tip brush for picking up and applying the gold sheets and an agate burnishing tool to burnish the clay after the gold has been applied.
True gold leaf is soo thin that you can literally see through it. It has been beaten to four millionths of an inch in thickness! And it will practically dissolve between your fingers if you touch it with your bare hands.
Here is a really cool vid to show how gold leaf is made for those interested:
It is also extremely difficult to handle as it floats like a feather in the air. If there is any kind of draft at all, forget about it!
That is where the squirrel hair brush comes in. I have a vintage one made in W Germany.
I use a very small amount of chapstick on my wrist that I drag the fibers across to give it very little tack. Static electricity can work too.
I almost forgot to mention another step. Once all the bole has been applied then a special mixture of thinned down RSG with distilled water and alcohol is used to re-wet the surface and reactivate the adhesive properties of the RSG in the clay. This is called 'gilder's liquor'. You can use isopropyl alcohol, but that's no fun, so I used a platinum top shelf tequila
Once you get close to the wet surface, maybe about 1/4 of an inch away the gold will 'suck' to the surface, almost like it's magnetically attracted.
After an initial coat of the the pieces.
As you can see there are quite a few cracks in the finish. These happen as part of the process where folds in the gold occur, or in places where the gilder's liquor has set into the clay too quickly. They will be filled in later with smaller pieces of gold leaf scrap. Here you can also see some issues where all the layers have delaminated from the surface down to the white resin on the cuff in the background. I had to completely re-do these areas.
After letting the pieces dry for a bit I got to burnishing. This is where the magic happens if you've done everything correctly the agate stone will burnish the bole underneath the gold to give it a nice reflective surface.
I didn't get it to a full mirror finish since I didn't spend enough time sanding and applying the multiple layers of bole, but I figured this gauntlet was going to be some kind of ancient relic, hundreds of thousands of years old. So the surface had developed some imperfections over the years
Before filling in all the gaps and nooks I had to do a quick test fit
After running around the house for about an hour with it on and teasing my wife with the absolute power I was about to wield once I had collected all the stones from across the Cosmic Universe . . . I got back to business and filled in the areas that were still lacking gold. For the very fine cracks and super small areas that I wasn't able to work the gold into I used a gold mica powder. Here are the results in low light:
And with a single light source shining down on it to really show off the glow of it all:
And that's where I'm at so far. I might end up using this for a full Thanos cosplay or at least to wear to the premier of Avengers Infinity War. I still need to add all the metal rivets, attach the pieces to the glove permanently and weather the whole thing with a casein. Then of course, add the INFINITY STONES! At which point there will be no stopping my Absolute and Unlimited Powers!
Subscribe to this thread and stay tuned for more if your interested to see how it all turns out. :cheers
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