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Step 4Add the Steampunk Gadgetry and Gilding
"The polisher looked at the new shipment of parts and groaned. There was always so much work to be done! He mused on the idea of hiring an apprentice (that boy would never leave him alone) but decided again that the peace and quiet was worth the extra labor. He pried off the wooden crate lid and saw the greasy engine parts staining the inside of the box and grinned . . . it wasn't so bad really."
This is perhaps the most fun and most challenging part. Sometimes I feel that I've done well and sometimes it just looks bad to me. I'm getting better at it but arranging the parts in such a way that they look semi-functional and aesthetically pleasing is quite a trick to be sure.
Take the gears, wires, springs, and other machine parts and arrange them on your piece carefully and try a few different arrangements to see what appeals to you. I try to have some semblance of order (i.e. gears teeth interlocking etc.) rather than slapping stuff on whilly nilly . . . but whatever suits you and pleases YOUR eyes is right.
This time I used the plumber's epoxy to affix everything since I'd be handling it a lot and needed something very sturdy. This requires you to paint a bit but I felt it was worth the extra effort to know the pieces wouldn't simply fall off.
Once you've got the bits added and painted, it's time to gild the flashlight. Mine had a rough texture which was great as you'll see soon. Take a TINY amount of the rub n buff onto your finger and dab most of it away on a paper towel. Carefully and lightly brush your finger on any raised areas of the piece and some will get left behind kind of like dry brushing if you're a painter. The idea here is that since this thing is really old grime will have accumulated in any recesses and be rubbed off on raised areas leaving a silver/metallic shine to show through. So we'll be mimicking that by adding the silver instead of the grime. Less is more here . . .if you use too much you'll spoil the effect. If your finger runs out then get a bit more from what you dabbed on the paper towel and resume. This stuff is awesome but takes a bit of getting used to (I'm still getting better at applying it) so practice on something else first to get the idea then move onto your piece. If you mess it up horribly, no worries! Just paint anywhere you messed up with black and try again.
This is perhaps the most fun and most challenging part. Sometimes I feel that I've done well and sometimes it just looks bad to me. I'm getting better at it but arranging the parts in such a way that they look semi-functional and aesthetically pleasing is quite a trick to be sure.
Take the gears, wires, springs, and other machine parts and arrange them on your piece carefully and try a few different arrangements to see what appeals to you. I try to have some semblance of order (i.e. gears teeth interlocking etc.) rather than slapping stuff on whilly nilly . . . but whatever suits you and pleases YOUR eyes is right.
This time I used the plumber's epoxy to affix everything since I'd be handling it a lot and needed something very sturdy. This requires you to paint a bit but I felt it was worth the extra effort to know the pieces wouldn't simply fall off.
Once you've got the bits added and painted, it's time to gild the flashlight. Mine had a rough texture which was great as you'll see soon. Take a TINY amount of the rub n buff onto your finger and dab most of it away on a paper towel. Carefully and lightly brush your finger on any raised areas of the piece and some will get left behind kind of like dry brushing if you're a painter. The idea here is that since this thing is really old grime will have accumulated in any recesses and be rubbed off on raised areas leaving a silver/metallic shine to show through. So we'll be mimicking that by adding the silver instead of the grime. Less is more here . . .if you use too much you'll spoil the effect. If your finger runs out then get a bit more from what you dabbed on the paper towel and resume. This stuff is awesome but takes a bit of getting used to (I'm still getting better at applying it) so practice on something else first to get the idea then move onto your piece. If you mess it up horribly, no worries! Just paint anywhere you messed up with black and try again.
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