I did some graphite edges again, this time going for a mirror finish (I'm still not sure they couldn't be even more shiny).
(The 2 pictures above show the difference between the graphite edge on a trimmed but otherwise untreated edge and a trimmed and sanded edge with burnished graphite.)
When doing all 3 edges, I always start with the front edge because that's the most difficult one to do without making too much of a mess when it's curved from rounding the book.
My process is first of all sanding (so much sanding in bookbinding).
I started out sanding with a 120 grit and worked my way up to 400 before applying a graphite-paste layer. There are pre-made liquids for graphite edges, but I mix my own batch each time, because graphite powder is what I have, so I use that and it's not really difficult to mix it with a thin paste.
It looks pretty patchy before polishing, which is perfectly normal.
When applying the graphite paste the edges should be dust and fuzz free to avoid weird specks on the finished edge. The issue with those specks is that they are usually thicker than the rest and tend to flake off.
Next is waiting for the graphite-paste to dry a bit and then start polishing with a wad of cotton or any soft fuzz-free cloth until the edge is shiny and no graphite comes off anymore.
My graphite paste was a tad too thin though. I polished it, but noticed after a bit I wasn't getting a good coverage on the edge. So I just added another layer, let it dry again and polished some more.
This time I really wanted to see if I could get a mirror finish by burnishing the edge with an agate burnisher. If you do this, make sure your tool, agate burnisher, bonefolder or whatever you use, is clean and unmarred. it's terribly annoying to get scratches on the edge at the very last step.
I finished up with a thin layer or wax to protect the paste from getting reactivated, polished and burnished again with cloth and agate.
I'm not sure that's the best it can be, but it certainly is more shiny than the merely cloth polished edge.
I was asked to go over my process for painting edges and I wanted to do a new one so I could take good pictures of the process. Alas, I don't have the time to do that at the moment so a quick write up with already existing pictures it is
These pictures only show the colouring of the top edge. Traditionally it's either the top edge or all edges that get coloured/decorated. Colouring the front edge of a rounded book comes with another set of challenges that I will not address here. (On the upside, colouring a straight front edge is just the same.)
The basic procedure is always the same though.
First up the book is set in a press. Trimming helps to get a more even surface and will help reducing the time one spends on sanding.
Prepping the bookblock
I prep the bookblock and use some sturdy and not voluminous paper to cushion the bookblock between boards. A bonus on this is, the cushioning can adapt to the shape of the bookblock. As visible the pictures, these are from colouring the edge of book with shoulders (which means it has not only been rounded but also backed). By cushioning the bookblock I can protect the shoulders from being squashed by the boards when I apply pressure. The cushioning paper should also be larger than the book itself. Otherwise the pressure from clamping the edge tight can cause a smaller cushioning to leave marks on the bookblock.
(btw paper from high gloss magazines is perfect, because it's very dense and will not be compressed/ reduce pressure on the bookblock)
Putting the book in the press
For this you need a press that allows to have one side of the book (the one you're working on) point upwards.
The paper is level with the edge, but the boards are a bit recessed (no more than 5mm). This is done to keep pressure on the bookblock without having to sand the boards at the same time. Also thinner bookblocks can quickly get sanded at an angle which is a) an aesthetic issue and b) causes trouble when taking the measurements for the case.
When the book sits tightly in the press (here the go to is, give it as much as you have! you want those pages so tight no water is seeping in and causes bleed! Sometimes paper quality is lacking though and it can't be avoided.)
Sanding the edge
Sanding is, in my experience, the one of the crucial parts of edge colouring. A smooth edge will lead to an even result and removes one possible cause for flaking (there are more though).
Even my trimmed books usually have a mark from the blade when trimming and to get an even looking result those need to go.
I sand in different grits, starting with a 120 sandpaper wrapped around a block of cork or another tool for holding the paper. I go no lower than than to avoid getting even deeper groves than there still are. Then I follow up with 180, 240 and 320 paper. Usually that's enough to get a glossy sheen on the edge. (different book but you can see that gloss and the part I still had to go over in the pictures below)
Once they have that sheen...
DO NOT TOUCH THE EDGE!
I know it's hard. The temptation to just run the fingers over them great. They look so smooth and shiny. Almost silken to the touch... and they are... but I repeat YOU MUST NOT TOUCH!
The oils on your skin can interfere with a good result. Especially water based colours may not stick as well to the areas touched as others, glues and foils do not adhere as well, stuff like that.
Applying colour
When the book is in the press it's not removed or
pressure reduced before the edge decoration is done. For the colour shift acrylic paints it's essential to get a dark foundation. Otherwise the colour will not show!
I've done this with ink.
(This was really rushed and not neat at all, don't aim for a look like that! All the darker parts show where I did not have a smooth surface yet. Even the cutting marks from trimming are till visible.)
In my experience working with acrylic paints is more forgiving to laziness when sanding than inks. At least when it comes to even coverage in the end, possible flaking is a different matter.
The colourshift acrylic paint was way more liquid than the ones I'm familiar with, still they needed diluting (a first go with undiluted colour resulted in severe flaking). For the ratio on how to dilute I can't give measurements. I think I ended up with a rather thin colour and did several passes until I was satisfied with the colourshift effect.
No matter what coat is applied I use a soft brush that is wider than the bookblock to cover all at once and avoid to obvious streaks. The direction of brushing is from spine area to the front. I try to get the whole edge covered in 1 motion. To avoid colour seeping down the front edge I lift the brush towards the end so there's less pressure pushing a bit of colour ahead of the brush and spilling down the front edge. (I'm still working on that part, different paints behave differently, but that's the ideal to aim for.)
Now all to do is wait until the colour is completely dry. Which is rather fast with acrylics but takes a bit longer with ink. That step can be speed up a bit with a hairdryer on low heat and from a distance to allow the colour to dry evenly and then the book can be taken out of the press.
I've seen different approaches to separate the edges. Mine is a gentle wave motion. Holding on to the books spine and front and just twisting it and pushing the pages so they move against each other.
If all went well there's a rewarding crackle and no colour flakes off. If colour flakes off, it's back to square one, sanding until all is clean and smooth, colouring, drying and separating (and hoping this time all goes well).
As a reference for the colourshift paints I used, I did a test sheet for the chameleon colours. So here's a dot of the same colour on white paper as the stripes under or next to it on the black and also slightly different angles to show the colourshift (sadly it photographs really bad on flat surfaces)
Enjoy a few WIP pictures of The Raven for Renegades Tiny Books Bang exchange.
I first worked the decoration with a cold tool to get the outlines and after that went over it with a hot pen. Last I had another go with a cold tool after to kind of polish the pattern and added a colour shift acrylic paint to mimic that iridiscent sheen one can see on raven feathers.
I used the same colourshift paint for the edges, but the effect is hard to catch on pictures. Fun fact for those colours, they need a dark surface to show. The same colour on white has a faint mother of pearl shimmer with a hint of colour at best. On black it stands out in a wonderful blue-green-purple. To achieve that effect I used iron gall ink to blacken the edges (I didn't know that the ink looks blue first and one can watch as the ink turns black in less than a minute)
If you look closely you can see shimmering little sample spots on the white paper to get an idea what the paint looks like on white. The black colour is made with iron gall ink.
I saw some cool examples of edge decoration today...the first is a pastel green edge paired with a salmon colored binding. The perfect Spring color scheme? The second book has red stripped edge decoration - the alternate stripes were once almost neon yellow, but they've faded over time.
