BITS & PIECES
TAKE YOUR TIME WITH GOLD LEAF
YOUR TREASURES ARE WORTH IT!
Gold leaf, one of the best "quick fixes" for a variety of furnishings, isn’t easy to work with. One of the reasons is its weight: if you have ever picked up an entire sheet, you know you can barely tell it’s there! As a result, the smallest air current can cause movement and small tears.
Many gold leaf kits are available in the marketplace and they are designed to make the process fairly easy--if you closely follow directions. Many kits come with a bottle of adhesive, sealer, brushes, cheesecloth for polishing and several sheets of gold leaf layered in between pieces of tissue paper.
Here are some basic instructions:
1. Make sure the area you work in is well-ventilated.
2. Cover your work area with newspapers.
3. Before you apply gold leaf, the object you are working with must be clean and dry.
4. Next, brush on a light coat of adhesive. It will be very sticky and difficult to remove and that means you must be certain of where you are applying it! (Brushes can be cleaned in warm water). When the adhesive drys (about an hour) it changes from murky to clear. But it will remain sticky, giving you lots of time to work with it.
5. Carefully remove the gold leaf from the package, floating it to the object you are working with. It will immediately stick but it won’t necessarily lie flat on a sticky surface. This is one of the assets of golf leafing -- it has interesting ripples, wrinkles, edges and seams.
6. Next, smooth the gold leaf with a dry brush but be sure not to get any of the sticky material on the brush. Then buff it gently with the cheesecloth, removing any excess, smoothing the surface and to give the object a sheen.
7. If you’re happy with what you have done so far, apply the sealer with a clean brush. And wait for several hours for the object to dry.
Before you try something important, though, you might test your talents with gold leaf by applying it to a small frame, a mirror or even by drawing a thin line on an old chair. To add age to an object, brush on Old World’s antiquing glaze over the sealer. Polish it with the cheesecloth, leaving some of the antiquing in the cracks and finish it off with another coat of sealer. Both of these items can be found online at http://www.currys.com/artistsmaterial/prodinfo.asp?SubcatID=751&catID=7
HOW TO BUFF SCRATCHES OUT OF GLASS
Hairline or very light scratches can be removed from glass tables by using an automotive-polish compound or a whitening type toothpaste. However, if the scratch is deep enough to catch your fingernail on it, it is probably too deep to remove. Using the abrasive or the toothpaste, work in a circular fashion until you begin to see some results. Other products such as jeweler’s rouge (a fine, dark powder which is also called iron oxide) or special glass-polishing materials (found at glass companies) can also be used.
Using the iron oxide, mix one ounce with one ounce of glycerin and one ounce of water. Place a tiny amount on a soft cloth and work it over and into the scratches. You can check your progress by washing this solution off periodically. All of this takes time, so be patient. And remember not to put too much weight or pressure on the glass or it may break. If all of this is too much trouble, then your best bet may be a local glass company who could professionally buff the glass for you. If the scratches are deep, though, they are permanent. And then your only option will be glass replacement.
DISCOUNTS FOR SENIORS AT LOCAL THRIFT STORES
Even though everything in most thrift stores is already priced ridiculously low, many seniors either do not take advantage of special discounts or may not know about them. For men and women over fifty-five, several stores provide discounts as follows (be sure to ask at all thrifts for bargain days and discounts):
| American Thrift: |
Tu., Thurs. Sat. 50%, Fri. 70% everyone |
Baras Thrifts: |
$12/3-mo. membership earns 50% off clothing, 15% off Boutique, 10% furn |
| AmVets: |
50 % discount, Wednesdays everyone |
| Children’s Hospital Thrifts: |
20% Sun., M. Tu. Srs.; M. & Sun. Mil.; Wed. Stu. |
| Goodwill Thrift Stores: |
10% Seniors, military with photo I.D. daily |
| Salvation Army: |
50% Seniors Mon. & Wed., selected items; 15% mililtary daily |
| San Diego Rescue Mission: |
10% daily |
| Skill Centers of America: |
Mon. & Th., 50% Seniors; Tu. Military & Students 25% |
San Diego THRIFT STORE FACTS:
TEN BITS OF INFORMATION YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT
1. There are fifty-five different thrift store businesses in San Diego County totalling ninety-five locations: twenty-eight are charitable, social organizations, twenty are church-related, two are privately owned, one benefits animal causes, three are military related and one benefits kids’ causes. (For a complete listing of San Diego thrift stores, go to www.bargainlink.com and click on thrift stores.)
2. The largest concentration of thrift stores in San Diego County is the Central/Hillcrest/Mid-City/Clairemont area with twenty-three stores followed by nineteen in the North Coastal area with fifteen in North County Inland plus fourteen each in East County and South County. Ten stores are located in the Beaches (includes Midway-Rosecrans.)
3. There are five thrift store antiques and collectibles boutiques in San Diego, four are owned by the Salvation Army and one by Goodwill Industries. While several other medium-sized thrifts come close to a boutique label (such as My Sister’s Closet in Hillcrest, St. Paul’s, Mission Outreach, Potpourri and Alternatives Hospice), they do not have the quantity of collectibles and antiques sold by Goodwill and the Salvation Army.
4. Honors for the oldest thrift store goes to Goodwill Industries which opened its first thrift store in downtown San Diego in 1930. Although the Salvation Army has been in town since 1887, the Army did not open its first thrift store here until the 1940’s
5. The Salvation Army has the largest number of thrift store locations with ten stores plus an auction site, followed by Goodwill with eight stores and one auction site. The Baras Foundation which opened its first thrift in Hillcrest in July of 1993 is in third place with seven stores, followed by St. Vincent de Paul’s Thrifts with five locations and an auction site.
6. The largest San Diego thrift store is probably the Skill Center Thrift at 6195 University Ave. with 20,000 square feet, followed by the Salvation Army in Poway (14,000 square feet) and the D.A.V. Veteran’s Thrifts, Chula Vista (12,000 square feet). One of the Baras Foundation Thrifts is around 10,000 square feet and the Pacific Beach Salvation Army store is also around 10,000 square feet. Am Vet stores are also traditionally large, especially the Spring Valley location.
7. Goodwill Industries is the only thrift store in town with a drive-through donation window (Midway and Rosecrans store), while the D.A.V. Veteran’s Thrift in Chula Vista allows customers to buy off arriving trucks as they unload.
8. Poway , CA has the most accessible-by-walking thrift stores; there are four thrifts in a row off of Poway Road: St. Michael’s/ St. Vincent’s; St. Bart’s, R.B. Presbyterian and Fabulous Finds (the boutique operated by R.B. Presbyterian.) In addition, the Salvation Army’s Poway store is just across the street, about half a block away.
9. Never shop thrift stores on a Monday or on weekends if at all possible. Stores need time to process donations and on weekends, you’ll be competing with more shoppers. Your best bet? Thursdays or Fridays.
10. If saving more money is important to you, thrifts have sale and discount days; contact your favorite thrift . Become known with sales people; ask how often stock changes. And don’t be afraid to buy something needing minor repairs; the value of the item can exceed the cost of the repair.
San Diego RUMMAGE SALE FACTS:
1. There are probably seventy or more annual rummage sales in San Diego County.
2. The "Rummage Sale Season" begins every March with the largest sale of the year, the Thursday Club Rummage Sale, held annually in Balboa Park. The Thursday Club also has the honor of being San Diego County’s oldest rummage sale, as it was founded in 1926. The sale raises well over $50,000 or more annually. It is the largest sale as well, featuring huge quantities of everything imaginable including fine antiques and collectibles.
3. The second oldest sale is held in La Jolla, CA. St. James-By-The-Sea Rummage Sale earns an average of $40,000 annually. It began in 1933. The sale is housed in two buildings and it, too, features wonderful antiques and collectibles. It is only one of two sales hosting a "pre-sale" several days before the actual sale, for a fee (Mission Hills Congregational Church is the other one.)
4. Most of the other sales earn between $2-14,000 and they are spread throughout San Diego County.
5. While the season begins in March, it runs through May, slows down for the summer and picks up again in the fall.
6. St. James By-The-Sea is the only sale we know of where clothing is color-sorted (we’re not certain about some of the others; they may be doing that as well.)
7. Because many of these Rummage Sales are operated by church or social organizations and run by volunteers, overhead is low. This indicates to us that most of the monies raised are indeed distributed to worthy causes -- from helping needy church members to programs in Africa. Beneficiaries are varied but serve the most immediate needs of the community.
8. Some of the best books can be found at St. Dunstan’s Rummage Sale and at St. James Rummage Sale.
9. Because a rummage sale may be low in quantities one year doesn’t mean the same will occur the next year. The success of these sales depends upon donations.
10. Rummage sales remain our number one pick for finding bargains in San Diego County. Nothing compares to the amounts of goods sold, including the antiques and collectibles, and perhaps most important, the low prices!
