Foiling - Lesson 2 - Foil onto Chipboard and Thin Wooden Pieces

Chipboard words from Frendz - the lower right word has been foiled with matte Antique Gold foil

Today's tip - the chipboard pieces often come with a layer of ash from the manufacturing process - clean it off with a soft brush - if you leave it on it stops the foil bonding and may mark your platform cover.
Bonus tip - if you have watched people on YouTube using the foil, you may have noticed them cutting the corners off their foil pieces before use. This may stop the foil from curling.

Today's fact - the machine will turn off automatically after 25 minutes if left unused.

For those of you that were going to ask "I don't have a metal shim - can't I just do this on the GoPress platform?" - No you cannot. The gridlines on the platform will imprint onto your work. This answer applies to all the processes that use the metal shim. This is the voice of experience.

For this technique you will need:

• your GoPress & Foil machine - plugged in and waiting
• a metal shim - mine is a bit curled and dented but still works for this technique but not one of the later ones. If you own a GoCut & Emboss you will have received a metal shim with it, or you may have one already (they are used with some brands of metal dies such as Cheery Lynn). If not you will need to purchase one. The metal shim will also be used when foiling with embossing folders and for Lesson 3.
• a die-cutting machine (such as a BigShot, GoCut & Emboss, or Cuttlebug) without any platform or plates
• GoPress foil  (and sharp scissors to cut the foil). You still cannot use other brands of foil (e.g. Minc or Deco) for the machine. (Just checking that you read this bit last lesson).
• a chipboard or thin wooden piece (not thicker than 12mm) Clean your chipboard piece first - they often have black ash from the manufacturing process on them which will stop the foil from adhering cleanly.
• some SMOOTH cardstock or some plain or patterned paper for your image
• The knobbly protective mat and tweezers that came with the GoPress

Jump scare warning - if your metal shim like mine is not flat, the heating process can cause the plate to warp or flex as it heats or cools - sometimes with quite a bang! It is just a noise, but has caught me off guard a couple of times!!

What to do:

Metal shim heating on platform.

• Press the ON button on your machine, and wait until flashing light turns green.
• Place the metal shim onto the hot surface of the platform and wait for the light to return to green.

  

  Ready to cut foil to size.

• Cut foil to the size of your chipboard piece (lay the right side of the chipboard piece on the not-pretty side of the foil and cut foil to fit). Note - if I cut the foil to an exact rectangle to frame the word, I could use the final peeled off layer (a coloured foil rectangle with a clear Happy Birthday in it) to adhere to an adhesive panel or to foil with heat and pressure onto a card or paper layer. These techniques will be shown in a later lesson with instructions and pictures.
  
• Lay the foil pretty side down onto the metal shim.
• Place the chipboard piece right-side down onto the foil. When you are foiling a word always make sure the front of the word is resting on the back (not-pretty side) of the foil. When you look at your chipboard piece from above it should be the mirror image if what the foiled image will be.
• Close the platform and wait until light is green again. 
• Now wait another 15-30 seconds to allow the layers to heat through.
• Remove platform from machine and wind it SLOWLY through your die-cutting machine.
• Return platform to GoPress (but not heating), wait a few seconds, then gently peel away the foil backing from the chipboard piece.
  

Exactly the same technique is used for thin wooden pieces.

If you plan to remove the metal shim and go on to other projects, use the tweezers and the protective mat. The shim is HOT.

Note - If you use a piece of already-used foil that has had pattern on it you can get a pattern on your chipboard piece.

The heart shown here was foiled with a Midnight Blue foil scrap that had previously been used with the Anna Griffin 'Thorny Branches' Hotfoil stamp.

CHIPBOARD/WOOD PIECE SUMMARY

Layering - from platform up:

Heat required - machine is ON

Metal shim - heated

Foil - coloured side down

Cleaned chipboard or wood piece - good side down

Close platform, reheat, wind SLOWLY through die-cutting machine