Gold Leaf Pricing

[bob pfohler]

I've done quite a bit of gilding with the cheap stuff from Michaels as practice but now I have a real sign to gild.
How do you guys price the job?

[Joe Pelonio]

I have done a few jobs a year, not a lot because people balk at the price. I charge $5/square inch labor, plus double the price of the leaf and size used.

In the case of 1" lettering on a glass door, for example, each letter is $5 or more (W and M are wider than they are tall) so the words FRED SMITH ATTORNEY AT LAW would be about $110+ plus maybe $25 for the materials. Anything extra such as clearcoat on top or black under it with outlines showing is added at my usual $75/hour and double material cost.