Gordon uses a paint roller to apply four or five coats of acrylic gesso to the rough side of a piece of 1/4" standard Georgia-Pacific hardboard. He sands the surface with 60- or 80-grit sandpaper, then applies two or three coats of gesso with a wide trowel.

He sands again with coarse sandpaper or a sanding screen and finishes with 400-grit paper for a surface that is eggshell-smooth. Preferring to paint on a surface that's not glaring white, he coats the surface two or three times with thinned gray alkyd paint, and sands with 600-grit paper after each coat. He transfers his drawing to the panel using graphite paper and a ballpoint pen.

To help achieve a glass-like finish, Gordon uses Golden brand MSA (Mineral Spirit Soluble Acrylic) varnish as a final varnish. This varnish contains ultraviolet light filters and stabilizers. The satin MSA varnish is too dull and a little too thick for his needs, so he dilutes it by mixing roughly three parts MSA with three parts Winsor & Newton gloss varnish and one part mineral spirits. He brushes on a coat of varnish with a fine 2" varnish brush and, when dry, repeats with one or two more coats. He sands very lightly between coats with 600-grit paper, seeking a smooth, bright finish that is not high gloss.