Gilding Issue/Question

[Matt Hutchinson]

I have playing around with gilding the last few days, and have been learning a lot through trial and error. Right now I am working on a piece that I have been gilding over the course of a couple days, and the dern imitation gold leaf has oxidized more quickly than I expected. It's dull in the areas I gilded yesterday, and the work I did this morning is very shiny. Any ideas on how to restore the shiny lustre?

Thanks!

Hutch

P.S. I obviously still have a bit of cleanup/refining to do, but I think the photos give a pretty good look at what I'm up against.

[Steve Vaughan]

Matt, wish I could help ya out. I've done just a little bit of leafing and what I've done ain't this good. I just get'r done, spray it with laquer and call it old.

[Matt Hutchinson]

Well, as it turns out, my hand oils had a lot to do with the problem. Now, that I have a better handle on the technique, I think that I will be able to tackle gilding efforts all in one shot. In any case, attempts at cleaning/reviving the surface didn't work. I ended up using gold flake in order to get the piece completed for the deadline. Thanks!

Hutch

[Chip Sutherland]

I have gilded several items. Lucky for me I was not trying to get your ultra shiny result. But you seem to have figured out that oils from your fingers are the primary blame. You should wear cotton gloves when handling any gilding. Also make sure you get the right side up as the underside is usually a satin sheen. After you have finished a significant area and it is totally dry, you will want to use lacquer to seal it. That will help keep the shine and save you from any secondary contamination.

Personally, I think your piece was better with gold flake.

The alternative would have been to use a hi-quality gold paint. I wanted to gild the inside of a small asian box but didn't have the patience nor enough gold sheets. I ended up painting the inside with gold paint then burnished, polished it on the lathe to get rid of the brush lines. I polished it up to 8000. It was easy enough. The worst part was that I used an oil paint and it took a couple of days to really dry enough to withstand the heat of being burnished. Gilding would have looked better but now I know I have an alternative.

[Dan Hintz]

Chip,

Curious to know what type/brand of gold paint you used... rattle can stuff always gets you about what you pay for it.

[Chip Sutherland]

I have used 2 brands. American Accents (Rust-Oleum company) Classic Color Collection Gold 8oz (#7954). The other one is Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Metallic Gold (smallest is 32oz). The first one is the better and was recommended by a friend that restores furniture. I strained both first (which I hate doing). I have tried quality artist oils and rub-n-buff wax neither of which handled the burnishing part very well. Gold Rub-N-Buff was a big mistake. It is a wax, dries very quickly and is best used to accent grain lines (like liming wax).