Gold/silver leafing

[RJSoftware]

Hello all;

Anybody know how to do silver or gold leafing. I need to restore a small strip of silver leafing.

I believe it's silver but I only see small specs of it. Could be golden that turned silver from paint stripper.

Here is pic. Silver will be where white strip is.

http://www.picpuppy.com/nakedj.jpg

RJ

[RJSoftware]

Hello all;

Anybody know how to do silver or gold leafing. I need to restore a small strip of silver leafing.

I believe it's silver but I only see small specs of it. Could be golden that turned silver from paint stripper.

Here is pic. Silver will be where white strip is.

http://www.picpuppy.com/nakedj.jpg

RJ

[RJSoftware]

I guess the proper word is guilding. I was hoping to get more info in form of fake guilding but I guess from link posted below that the compsistion type guilding is a cheaper and acceptable route.

Here is link to post here on details. But no images. Also seen post from Tom T that goes into using guesso to create a stone like texture to apply guilding on I guess.

I dont think I need to use the guesso as I am not doing a column and trying to imatate stone.

Any further or helpful comments apreciated.

RJ

old ref::http://nawcc-mb.infopop.cc/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=2386079361&f...206076662#8206076662[/url]

Tom T
http://nawcc-mb.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5746044581/m/7586017533/p/1

I dont know what sizing is? Here is google search article on sizing.

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/hi_painting/article/0,203...3928_3757802,00.html (http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/hi_painting/article/0,2037,DIY_13928_3757802,00.html)

Gold leaf company
http://www.goldleafcompany.com/

This company also sells books on this subject and other texturizing subjects (faux etc..)
[url="http://www.goldleafcompany.com/books_kits.html"]http://www.goldleafcompany.com/books_kits.html

[Richard T.]

RJ,

If you are doing a search you had best look for "gilding".

Regards,

Richard T.

[Richard T.]

RJ,

No offense, but may I ask why you think your clock had any silver or gold leaf? I'm not sure it would have had either one. Will look for some pictures of original Gilbert sharp Gothic clocks.

Regards,

Richard T.

[RJSoftware]

No offense taken. I have image of what original state was like. Identicle clock.

http://www.picpuppy.com/Jez_original.jpg

Also I see minute flakes on mine but look more like silver. This may be due to using stripper to remove old black spray paint.

Any helpful info would be apreciated.
RJ

[Scottie-TX]

It wuz probly painted silver. Don't feel gildy about strippin' it.

[Richard T.]

Hi RJ,

Your clock was "gilded" and the color was gold.
I have found two recent examples of your clock that were sold at auction. Go to:

http://roschmittfinearts.com/index.html

The first was April 2003 Lot 223 and the second was May 2005, Lot 7. The pictures for the April 2003 auction have been removed but they are still there for the May 2005 and you can see another example of your clock. We just posted at the exact same time......

Regards,

Richard T.

[RJSoftware]

LOL! (guidy)

It looks too much like metal than paint. Also found out the immitation gold/silver gilding is fairly cheap.

Did you check out the book links I posted above? Looks perfect for clock work.

RJ

[Richard T.]

RJ,

We just posted at the exact same time...


Richard T.

[RJSoftware]

Richard T;

Yah I see. Hey I checked out the link and could not find image of my clock. Any chance you could post more direct url?

RJ

[Richard T.]

RJ,

Go to the link and click on the May 2005 auction heading, then select lot no. 7 and you will have the image and description of your clock.

Richard T.

[RJSoftware]

Richard;

One more question. How did you come to conclusion that it was gold? Not silver? I see only comment in May 2005 of guilded. Did not say guilded in what.

Thanks for the help.
RJ

[Richard T.]

Looking closely at the actual photographs that I have from the April 2003 and May 2005 catalog I can see that the gilding is gold.

Richard T.

[RJSoftware]

Oops one more question.

Can you email me the April 2003, since it is gone from thier site?

I am trying to document as much as possible. Just for my own purposes.

rjsoftware (at) yahoo (dot) com

Thanks again.
RJ

[Richard T.]

RJ,

E-mailed as requested.

Richard T.

[RJSoftware]

Ooops. Darn must be tired.

rjsoftware2000 (at) yahoo.com

Sorry.

RJ

[Richard T.]

Sent again.

Richard T.

[RJSoftware]

Thanks.
RJ

[W.R. WoodWorking]

I am restoring a Howard Miller Thomas Tompion and the Gold strip at the bottom is that painted or is that gold leafing?

[Mike Phelan]

Dunno what we ended up with, but gilding is not too difficult - the main problem is making sure the gold leaf does not blow away when you breathe on it!
Same applies to silver leaf.

If you google you should be able to find something on gilding, but take heed of what Richard says - 'guild' will only find you things about trade associations!

[craig]

RJ,
Gilding is easy but has a learning curve. There's a book called Practical Gilding that has been helpful for me. But the best way is to practice.

Your clock, like many others had a gesso applied. Then a size (glue for gilding) was applied, and subsequently the leaf was applied to the surface.

I'd say to experiment on another piece of wood to get the hang of gilding with either silver or gold leaf before you attempt it on your own clock. It does indeed have that much of a learning curve.

Tom is spending a few days off, otherwise he'd be all over this one. If you can wait, I'd consult with him since his ebook covers this subject in fine detail.

Hope this helps.

[TomT]

Hi RJ

You may already have all the information you need, but here is a link to a gilding how-to I put together some time back.Gilding how-to (http://www.xrestore.com/Pages/Gilded.htm)

Gold or silver leaf are both applied in the same manner and the door moldings in your photo would have been gilded using a technique similiar to the one shown.

Regards,

[Sooth]

Richard T. is correct. The edge should be gold leaf. I have a Gilbert cottage clock (I can send you a photo next week since I'm on vacation) that I regilded recently which is very similar (but rectangular). I also have a Waterbury "Doric" style and another mini Gilbert cottage that have gold trim. You can see these two clocks at my website (below).

If you want to do the gilding, it's really not too hard. Tom T. suggests an immitation leaf (about 8$ CDN a pack) and you just use a "size" which is a glue you can buy with the leaf. Go to a good art supply store for this.

You only need gesso if the "base" (white molding edge) is damaged. If it's in good shape, just gild right over it.

If you want a realistic effect, use shellac as your finish because it will make the gold look naturally old, and not super shiny. The case I just redid using this method looks very good.

[TomT]

Sooth's suggestion to use shellac over the completed gilding is a good idea since the imitation leaf will oxidize over time. Just be sure the size is fully cured before applying shellac and don't get the gilding too wet with shellac as it could soften the size until it cures.

It's not as hard as you might think.
As Craig said, grab a practice piece and some basic supplies and you good to go.......

Regards,