Masking off for gold plating

[ShinyLauren]

I bought some Lacomit to mask off areas of bits for gold plating. Is it just me or is this stuff the worst?! It's like really badly behaved nail polish.

Am I doing something wrong? I'm dipping a fine brush in the Lacomit then applying to the piece, but the Lacomit seems to turn the texture of jam in seconds, rendering it entirely unpaintable.

This is what I spent bloody forever doing last night:

8375

Is there some kind of knack to this stuff that is eluding me? Is there a better stop out varnish? I tried using regular nail polish but it doesn't adhere well to the metal, takes forever to dry and chips off easily.

[Dennis]

It's probably dried out and needs thinning with a solvent. If it has an aromatic smell acetone from a chemist, or cellulose thinners from a hardware shop would probably work. You could test it by trying to clean your brush with it.

Would nail polish work just as well? It is easily thinned or removed with acetone, available in 50ml bottles from Boots. Dennis.

[ShinyLauren]

Thanks Dennis - it's a new tin and seems fine when you dip the brush in it, just solidifies really quickly! I've got the lacomit remover, which I'm assuming is a solvent as it cleans the brush - don't know if that would work as a thinner, if it just won't dry because I'm mixing it with the remover!

I've tried normal nail polish but it doesn't seem to stick to the metal - just chips off.

I don't need to send anything else for plating this year (hopefully) so might have a play with some thinners over the holidays.

[Dennis]

Hi Lauren,
I suppose an alternative would be this: http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Lacquer-Pen-With-Lacomit-Un1993-prcode-999-AVK
or even a small pen plating unit.

By the way i really admire the finish on your work. Dennis.