Leather Helm Crest: Part 10 "...size it..."

After rehydrating the hide glue, it was left for a day. This is how I prepared the crest for gesso by sizing it (painting it with size/glue).

I took the lid off the jar of size and added hot water from the kettle to a pot. I tried to get you a nice pic of the set up but the camera fogged up so my kitchen looks like a 70s family photo. I had intended to bring the water temperature up on the stove but the left over water in the kettle, after pouring enough for a cup of tea, was enough heat to melt the hide glue. The open jar was sat on a small ceramic plate, to act as a trivet and keep direct heat from the base, if the water needed to be heated on the stove.

After 5 minutes or so, the glue had melted.

The leather crest had the dried sand removed from the inside, but each time I moved it there seemed to be more. I will really have to give it another solid shake and brush before the final coat of paint or the sand will find a way to get on the paint and make it look grainy.

 I applied one coat of size and left it to dry for an hour. When I returned, it was touch dry with a gel-like texture. You can see, in the jar, how much size it took for a single coat coverage. If around a 1/3 was used in a coat, and the whole volume took 3 teaspoons of dried hide glue, it took around 1 teaspoon for the first coat.

After an hour the size had reset. This time, placed the open jar of size back in the water bath and turned the stove on to the lowest setting. After a few minutes the glue had started to melt. After 5 minutes, the trivet started to bounce around and the glue began to smell. At this point, it had become a golden honey colour and texture. The glass bottle was still not very hot, as I could pick it up with bare hands.

I applied a second coat of size, making sure to brush in a different direction. You can see the brush strokes at 90 degrees to each other on the snout. Leave the size to dry and then you can cover it in gesso grosso.