How to make gesso

[@calebmok4843]

3:15 - the most satisfying sound in the world 🤩

[@1429376]

Thanks so much. My name is Manuela Rigano. I was a restorer in the past and now you remind me of a part of my work, which I would like to take back, if only for passion, since now I do a very different job. Just think that now while I see this video of yours just released on you tube I am watching on TV one of the restoration interventions on the frame of a mirror and immediately before another intervention on a fireplace mirror. It's a real refresher lesson :-) But also an integration to what I knew and didn't remember and other things I didn't know, I can't wait to see your other works, thanks again! I kept everything, now I have to go find my agate stone, gold leaf,lacca gum, bolus and all the rest ... I have lost track of it .. :-)

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Hope you do get back into restoration. It's so nice to spend time with beautiful objects and work work with natural materials.

[@1429376]

@@RuthTappinGilder Yes, it is beautiful, and it is also a challenge to find small solutions that are different each time because each time it is never the same as the previous one. And it is also so nice to see an object reborn without affecting its nature and respecting its history, in the case of a conservative restoration or giving new light. You are really good, thanks for sharing.

[@petermcdermott3996]

A geordie I presume ?

[@kerrypitt9789]

I'm sort of watching two of your shows at the same time here making notes. My job that I just retired from required me to watch ten screens and know what was going on. I'm only doing this to catch up. Normally I try to untrain my brain, I used to get exhausted mentally after 12 hours. So mixing up gesso, the only thing I have to see is if rabbit skin glue is available to me. Thanks again!! The other one I'm watching is for water gilding.

[@renatopedron3210]

Lavoro meraviglioso

[@sebastiangaldames9563]

Pretty straightforward explanation. Thanks a lot for sharing!

[@paweyyy3338]

Supposedly, alum and marble flour were once added. I tried. Thanks to the alum, it doesn't spoil and seems spreads better. Unfortunately, marble flour also needs to be ground in a mortar, but the effect is nice. The substrate is heavier and more durable, but it needs to be sanded.

[@paulmaryon9088]

Brilliant, sorry to keep commenting but I'm binge watching your vids!! Great stuff, keep 'em coming, thank you

[@RuthTappinGilder]

I love it when you find somthing good to binge watch 😁

[@juliaalmasri5028]

Hello Nice work, thanks. may I ask you for the recipe for making compo?

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Sorry, making compo is an income stream for me.

[@michaelflint4159]

Hi Ruth. At work on double time ,so what better than to watch your videos haha. What is reasoning behind 3 different colours of bole please? All the best Mike

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Same for me except for the double time. Countries have different colour bole under there gold. English Victorian bole colours are yellow, pink and black. R

[@raquelbistuer]

Good morning Ruth. Two question; how many layers of guesso do you apply over the surface? And for all these layers do you use the same guesso, or do you add more chalk as you make layers? .. I don’t know if I have explained me. Thank you always for your tips!

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@raquelbistuer I don't charge strenths, if you do, you want to go strong to weak. Around 10 coats. I've just launched the water gilding course it goes indepth into gesso, bole etc ruthtappin-gildingcourses.thinkific.com/

[@raquelbistuer]

Good to know!!! :) thank you Ruth!

[@backgroundboy]

Thanks so much for all the vids. When using the gesso, can I just keep warming it up to use?

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Yes, it may form a skin. If its thin just mix it in if not remove it. You may need to add a bit of water towards the end. as heating can evaporate the water and make it too thick and strong. Hope that helps.

[@erinwatkinson6473]

My gesso seems right, but dries up in the sealed bowl before I can apply a new coat. I’m not finding the answers as to why in my books. Would you have an idea? My rsg/water is 1:10 and my gesso is 4 parts rsg to 4 parts whiting. I applied a coat, and put the sealed lid onto the bowl, and it dried up in less than 1/2 hour. Was it supposed to go straight into the fridge?

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Try the resipy in this video. What temperature are you heating the gesso to? that might be a problem. You could be drying it out.I can leave the gesso out of the fridge with the lid on for a day no problem. Anr you making a very small batch of gesso?

[@JckMun]

I've seen conflicting information about whether you should let the gesso dry between layers (allowing for sanding) or whether it needs to be applied in consecutive layers once it's 'flash dry'. Any clarity would be helpful, as I find doing consecutive layers is messy and obliterates the detail of my frame moulding.

[@RuthTappinGilder]

I like to get all 10 coats on in one day in the summer and a day and a half in the winter. It can cause problems like pin holes if the previous layer is bone dry. If it has dried then just wet it a bit like you would for plastering a wall.

[@Lucinda_96]

I read online that we could skip the gesso and just apply bole. Is this correct? What about burnish sealer? Should we apply that underneath gesso and/or bole? I notice you don’t use it at all. Do you recommend using it only to seal the gold afterwards? Your advice would help! Thank you.

[@RuthTappinGilder]

If you're gilding onto wood and don't use the gesso, you will see the wood grain, even through the bole. Gesso is there to give you a smooth surface. I brush on a week rabbit skin glue layer before the gesso. This is like a primer. I would not use burnish sealer at all. Gold doesn't need sealing, only when you use 22ct or lower. then you can seal with shellac.

[@Gallus691]

Hi Ruth. I was wondering if when making gesso to be used on small pieces with detail you can make a weaker solution of rabbit skin glue? Say 1:10 instead of 1:8. I'm finding that I'm losing detail because of the thickness of the gesso. And thanks for these videos, without you I'd be in the dark.

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Glad you like the videos. Unfortunately I would say 70% of my job is sanding the gesso. Sanding is good on flat surfaces, there are gesso cutting tools to get the detail back on wood carving. You have to do minimum 10 coats on wood, other places like compo and plaster you can do less. To thin down the gesso just put in less whiting.

[@Gallus691]

@@RuthTappinGilder Thanks Ruth much appreciated. Another quick question re bole. There doesn't seem to be any yellow, or red on the market at the moment and was only able to get black. I know in the vid re making bole you said you have to start with yellow but due to lack of supply can I just use black in the meantime? I've only found one supplier who has a pot of red but it's 50 pounds and don't feel I'm yet at the stage where I need such a large amount and already made some expensive mistakes.

[@Gallus691]

@@RuthTappinGilder I quite like the process and the prep. It's all in the detail. 🙂

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@Gallus691 I was using the 3 colours because it's was a Victorian frame and that was the colours they used. So if you're not trying to match a time period or specific country's bole colour then it doesn't really matter. Black isn't the best colour under gold. It will show up any hole in the gilding. But as long as you do the 6 coats needed for burnishing water gilding then the colour doesn't matter. If your not burnishing you can get away with 4 and 2 for oil gilding.

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@Gallus691 😁 good job as that's 80% of the job. Gilding is just the icing on the cake as it were.

[@SusieQuhNOT]

Hi Ruth! I finally finished stripping the million six layers of paint from my frame. What an ordeal. I'm down to the white stuff. The guy at the art supply called me that it's gypsum powder mixed with rabbit skin glue and water. Is that the same as the gilders whiting powder?

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Gilders whiting is very fine chalk. Gypsum is what plaster is made from. You can make gesso from gypsum but it needs work first. It needs repeated soaking in water to change the ph to neutral. I would go with whiting if you can get it.

[@Schnickelg]

Is making gesso putty the same, but just with more whiting?

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Less water in the glue and yes more whiting. I'll be doing putty as part of the teaching videos. Hopefully start of next year.

[@gracealzamora9774]

thank you Ruth for your videos i just made some gesso according to your recipe, and i have much too much gesso do you think it is possible to freeze it, ? thank you again !!!

[@RuthTappinGilder]

I freeze the gesso putty, so don't see why not. Just defrost it before you heat it up.

[@cherylannebarillartist7453]

Thank you for including that it’s NOT for canvas!

[@reefprayerresin]

@cherylannebarillartist7453 - Ah! - Thanks for this, I didn’t hear that bit! All I could think of was what a thin gesso it is! I’ve never used gesso that thin on a canvas!

[@s.spencertenagodus8051]

Whiting : could you please advise me - will good quality plaster of paris (I have to hand for slate clock repairs) suffice for Whiting?

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Yes you can. The Italians used to use gypsum. I've not made it so I can't tell you ratios, sorry. Good luck, let me know how it goes. 😁

[@s.spencertenagodus8051]

@@RuthTappinGilder thank you, gesso is for some time in the future, presently your key gilding is my answer on gilding a metal figure. Size it and gild it - or should I clean off the old "gold paint" - button polish it with shellac or just do as done by you with the key? Clean it size it and gild it job done.

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@s.spencertenagodus8051 I always remove and old paint etc so I have a stable base to gild on and I know it's not going to fall off if the old paint flakes in the future.

[@s.spencertenagodus8051]

@@RuthTappinGilder thank you. I don't know how you manage. You are very kind and very generous. I know I will now make a success in gilding the figure. You have opened up a new world for me. Bless you. Kind regards Simon trading as Tenagodus

[@lisaghent7748]

Thank you for posting these videos. I've had many failed gilding exercises so these are really helpful. Just one question, how many layers of gesso do you usually apply?

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Thanks, around 10-12 coats. Think I show that in the balls video.

[@lisaghent7748]

@@RuthTappinGilder Thank you!

[@lisaghent7748]

Hi Ruth, if I could ask one more question: What is your process of sanding the gesso? I saw in your video with the balls that you only used steel wool. I was taught to start from 240grit sandpaper and then to make your way up to 1200! Thank you for your time.

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@lisaghent7748 the wire wool is for the bole. I start sanding the gesso with 80 then go to 320. The bole gets 1200 before the wire wool

[@lisaghent7748]

@@RuthTappinGilder thank you for clarifying that. I will try your method this week. Looking forward to it! Thanks again!

[@raquelbistuer]

Hello Ruth! One doubt… if i have a cracks after put the gueso and bole, which may be due? It is water gilding over wood… and that wood is old, and it has some cracks, but i glued them very well… i don’t understand it!! Is there any trick to prevent or avoid thoso cracks from appearing on the surface? Thank you always for your help! Have a nice day!

[@RuthTappinGilder]

The gesso will wet the wood. You could try after the rsg gluing adding some natural fabric and rsg gluing that on. Let it dry and then gesso. The fabric can't be synthetic.

[@raquelbistuer]

Ok, thank you Ruth… But is there any solution to avoid having to remove all the layers or not?

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@raquelbistuer you can gouge out the cracks to make them bigger then fill, that might work.

[@raquelbistuer]

Ok, thanks! … fill them with guesso and bole or do you mean with a small piece of fabric?

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@raquelbistuer gesso. 😁

[@dianeharpal4811]

Can you use store bought gesso?

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Thats acrylic gesso for canvases, if you want to gild you need to make this traditional gesso.

[@jakovj.m.5322]

According to your experience, does the white chalk have to be specifically calcium carbonate, because according to some claims, everything else is unstable and can have bad consequences on the canvas after a while, or you can freely use any fine chalk, thanks

[@RuthTappinGilder]

I use the gilders whiting because it's so fine and gives a perfect surface for gilding. Not sure if anything else is as pure or what that would do to a painting. You can use this gesso on a board but it won't flex, so will crack on canvas. You need an acrylic gesso rather than the rabbit skin glue gesso.

[@jakovj.m.5322]

@@RuthTappinGilder Thank you for your reply, I used ready-made gesso, but I wanted to prepare it myself and I was going to use wood glue, white acrylic paint and some talcum powder like baby powder or corn starch for example. (I know it's totally unprofessional) but calcium carbonate is very hard to get, so I wanted your opinion on whether there would be any problems with these materials 🙏

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@jakovj.m.5322 have a go with talc. The whiting is needed for gilding, but you may get away with it. I've been wanting to do some gesso tests, some recipes have marble powder in and powdered clay. One day when I have time. 🙄 Would be nice to know how you get on. R

[@jakovj.m.5322]

Please find some time 😊, this is rarely a serious and useful channel among all this nonsense on youtube, thanks 🙌

[@paintstorm1]

Used you rformula exactly using the 1.2 formulas and mine got really gloppy quicky once it cooled down. What did I do wrong?

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Nothing, gesso sets to a jelly at room temperature. You need to keep heating it up to keep it liquid.

[@GoddessTara923]

Do you use gesso before bole ? Or it it before the adhesive with oil guilding ?

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Yes you gesso before bole. It gives you a perfect smooth surface to gild onto..

[@GoddessTara923]

@@RuthTappinGilder if you don't use bole can you use acrylic or oil sizes on-top of the gesso? Using imitation gold? And is gilding gesso the same as artist gesso? Thanks so much for responding to me I have been trying to find the info .

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@GoddessTara923 acrilic gesso is flexible (pva based) so its used on artest canvases. You can't water gild on that but you can oil gild, because you can oil gild almost anything as long as it's non pourous or sealed. You don't have to use bole for oil gilding. But a colour behind the gold helps look good.

[@GoddessTara923]

@@RuthTappinGilder do you need to button polish over gesso when oil gilding? Thanks so much for answering my questions you amazing.

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@GoddessTara923 yes, you need to seal it.

[@surir76]

❤❤❤😊

[@erinwatkinson6473]

Hahaha I just tried my first batch and I couldn’t have ended up with a more incorrect result. Mine was frothy despite very lightly stirring, and chalky and gritty… so thick it wouldn’t pass through the muslin. My glue was made with the finer US rsg, so perhaps that would have changed the proportion. Then, I don’t think I melted the rsg granules enough fearing I’d go over 140°F. I still can’t explain the frothiness… that happened before I even started to stir! I’m sad but not discouraged. I will research a little more and try again!

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Not sure whats going on there. Are you using gilders whiting which is the fine ground whiting. You can get much coarser whiting which doesn't make good gesso. It won't go through the muslin when its not warm enough. Get one of those kitchen thermometer so you can see how long uou can heat the glue for.

[@erinwatkinson6473]

@@RuthTappinGilder thanks so much for the reply. The whiting seemed legit. It’s 100% calcium carbonate by Atlas Preservation. I’m going to reorder different whiting from a gilding supplier. I did use a thermometer, but I thought I was being clever by staying far away from 60°c, but I probably didn’t get it warm enough. The instructions on the gilding supplier website is calling for 5:1 on this finer grade of rsg granules… I’m genuinely not certain if that makes sense, but I’ll give it a shot! This looked so easy! 😆 I will have perfect gesso. Hahaha

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@erinwatkinson6473 the less water the stronger the glue will be. It means the gesso will be harder to sand but it will still work. Maybe less whiting.

[@erinwatkinson6473]

@@RuthTappinGilder I gave it another try today and it came out perfect! Thank you for the guidance.

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@erinwatkinson6473 that's great news, well done 😁

[@chrisgriffith1573]

The ratio depends on what type of hide glue you have, and how strong it is, some glues are heavier than others, and this will change the ratio as the glue weight will be different due to the amount of water within them. Are you making a full strength glue or a 1 to 20 part glue ratio? We have no clue. Then you use that tiny weeny brush to paint a whole frame? Huh. Telling.

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@chrisgriffith1573 The bloom strenth of the rabbit skin glue is 340 the ratio is 8-1. You can use a bigger brush on flat areas. But on frames you want more control of how much gesso you are putting on so as to reduce the amount of sanding needed.

[@pinkerbot]

What is whiting? Chalk?

[@RuthTappinGilder]

Yes it's chalk, calcium carbonate.

[@pinkerbot]

@@RuthTappinGilder thank you 🙂

[@authentic4225]

Wonder how much working time lol

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@authentic4225 depends on how warm your room is. If it's cold it will need to be warmed up more often.

[@authentic4225]

@@RuthTappinGilder I see that glue pot and warmer set do exist. Started getting more into this stuff after watch your videos. How long till the glue starts to set after it is applied I am asking?

[@RuthTappinGilder]

@@authentic4225 anywhere from 20 minuets to an hour, depending on room temperature