Does your gel solution seem too thin or too thick?

Gold Plating Services’ 24K Brush Gold Solution is available as a liquid or gel. For many applications the liquid solution is the most efficient and easiest to use. For other uses, such as the vertical surface of an automotive emblem, the gel is more appropriate.

All of our 24K Brush Gold Solution is fabricated as a liquid. For our gel product, we then add a very small amount (by weight) of thickening agent to our liquid brush gold solution to convert it to a gel. Among our customers who want a gel, there is a wide variation of just how thick the gel should be. Some users like it very thin, like pancake batter that can actually be poured out of the jar. Others like it much thicker like a paste that must be spooned out of the container.

As our standard product we have settled on a compromise between these two extremes. The good news is that chemically these two solutions are identical. They both contain the same amount of active components and will plate the same.

The other good news is that the end user can easily adjust the thickness of their gold gel without having any chemical or operational effect on the solution. A thin solution can be adjusted to a thick paste. Alternatively, a very thick gel can easily be adjusted to a gel that is more thin.

The thickness of the gel depends on a delicate balance between the ratio of the water in the solution and the thickening agent. Therefore, the end user can easily adjust the thickness of the solution by adding or removing (through evaporation) a very small amount of water and then stirring the solution until the perfect thickness is achieved.

To thicken a gel that is too thin we recommend placing the jar in a safe place and removing the lid for a few hours or even overnight. After this, stir the gel with a plastic spoon handle to check the thickness. If more thickness is desired, then repeat this step. If the gel is too thick then add a few drops of distilled water and stir again. 

Is your gel too thick? Watch this short video

Is your gel too thin? Watch this short video