Kölner Dura Letter, White Lettering ink for Natural and Artificial Stones, 100ml

Kölner Dura Letter lettering colour for natural and artificial stones. Suitable as a high-quality paint for grave inscriptions or as a primer for subsequent gilding with an oil mixture. For gilding with Kölner Rapid, priming with Dura Letter is not necessary.

Dura Letter paint drys fast, highly weather-resistant and hard-wearing synthetic resin paint on a solvent basis for both indoors and outdoors. Ready to use, high coverage, non-chalking and yellowing.

The Kölner Dura Letter is a special paint used for colouring writings on headstones, monuments, and sculptures. It is for both indoors and outdoors

1- The preliminary work – cleaning the surface
The first step is to remove old paint residues and dirt on the surface. This is important to be able to ensure the adhesion of the new paint. The easiest way to remove the old paint is with a brush in combination with water. If individual paint residues cannot be removed with the brush, however, this is not a big deal for further processing. The stone should then be allowed to dry sufficiently (at least 30 minutes) before the paint is applied.

2- Applying the Kölner Dura Letter paint
The easiest way to paint out the letters is to dab them with a bristle brush so that they end up well covered by the paint. Be sure to paint out the corners as well. If you are painting a polished stone (such as granite), the paint may also get on the area next to the letters, as the smooth surface of the stone will allow it to be removed once it dries. For rough stones, be sure to apply the paint only to the inscriptions. After the paint is applied, the stone with its inscriptions is left to dry for 24 hours. The processing can be continued the next day.

3- Removal of the paint residues next to the inscription
The third and last step is to remove the paint residues on the surfaces next to the letters. For this purpose, the rag is now dipped in water and then placed over the stone and the painted side so that it is moistened. After 30 minutes, the cloth is removed and placed on the floor underneath the painted surface to collect the old paint residue. Now remove the paint residue very carefully with the help of the blade scraper. Be careful to apply the blade scraper flat and not exert too much pressure on the stone in the process. You should work especially carefully on the edges of the letters so as not to break off any stone edges from the surface. After removing the excess paint, use the flat side of the cuttlebone to remove the remaining paint residue. A little more pressure can be applied here to ensure that all remnants of paint next to the inscriptions disappear. The remaining streaks on the surface can be removed in the final stroke with the rag and water.

4- How is lettering Kölner Dura Letter used when gilding stones?
If inscriptions are to be gilded, real gold leaf can be used for this purpose, or a metallic gloss paint such as Gold Decor. In the case of the latter, no primer is needed with the Kölner Dura Letter. Before starting with the gilding or the use of the metal gloss varnish, the surface should be cleaned sufficiently, as is also the case when colouring the inscriptions.

In the first step, when gilding with gold leaf, the Kölner Dura Letter is applied as a primer on the stone surface to be gilded in two coats, each with a drying time of 15 minutes. Kölner Rapid is particularly suitable for this purpose. After drying, gilding can then be carried out for up to three days. The length of time depends on the ambient temperature and humidity. The Kölner Rapid can be applied with a brush or sprayed on with a low-pressure spray gun. In this case, the nozzle width should be set to 1 – 1.5 mm.

A similar product is Durol Lettering Paint which is also for natural and artificial stones.