Gilding - A Little Help Needed

[Matt Hutchinson]

So, I am preparing to start a few different pieces that will involve metal leaf of some kind. I know there is a DVD by David J. Marks that looks really great, and that he also sells a starter kit which includes real gold leaf and the patination chemicals.

Does anyone know if the imitation leafing products can be patinated as well? Anyone know the visual and working differences between the fake and the real stuff?

I am low on shop funds right now, and if I can avoid/postpone the $180 expense for a month that would be great. I know there are some imitation gilding kits that can be purchased for only $35. But if fake won't give me the proper results than I certainly don't want to bother with it.

Thanks!

Hutch

 

[-e-]

remember patina is an oxidation process so can't add a patina to gold anyway.
using an imitation gold foil will produce similar effects but without the same reflective properties. but it's good when the pocket-books are light.

copper and silver will produce nice patinas with simple Potash chemical.

check your local library for books on patinas and leafing on frames. good place to start.

 

[Rich L.]

Another place to look for gilding supplies and metal leaf are local craft stores or art schools.

 

[Rich L.]

Another place to look for gilding supplies and metal leaf are local craft stores or art schools.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Several members of our woodturning club have done patination after taking David Marks' class at a local Woodcraft store where he demonstrated the process. They never used real gold leaf in their process and I doubt that David Marks did either. Additionally, the chemicals are far less costly if purchased from a chemical supply house. The drawback is that some of them have to be purchased in larger quantities than one really needs.

If you want to get some gold leaf, but not the really expensive 23+K variety, you can try 12K which will contain either copper or silver depending on whether you choose red or white gold. You can get a 25 leaf booklet of 3.125" square sheets for about $12 from this importer of Thai gold leaf: Golden Leaf Products as well as numerous other importers of gold leaf. Most art supply dealers will charge you about double that price.

The post above which mentioned that gold is not very reactive is correct, but the oxidation patina that he is thinking about on bronze and other sculptures exposed to the elements is not related to the patination process that David Marks uses. His process involves several other chemical reactions besides oxidation where various metallic salts are produced by the reactions with the leaf.

In the patination work done that I have seen done by others in my turning club, several types of metal leaf were used including copper and silver. Chemicals used in the process will produce very different results for different types of leaf.

 

[john lucas]

Have you thought about Varigated gold leaf. Sort of looks like it's been patinated (if that's a word) but it comes that way from the factory. I get it really inexpensively at Hobby Lobby.
One thing not mentioned ,and I haven't tried it, is that real gold leaf can be rubbed out to make a smoother surface. At least that's what I've read. It's because it's so thin and much more maleable than the fake stuff. It hasn't been in my budget but I'm considering it for just that reason for a project I have in mind. Can someone verify that.

 

[Bill Boehme]

.... One thing not mentioned ,and I haven't tried it, is that real gold leaf can be rubbed out to make a smoother surface. At least that's what I've read. It's because it's so thin and much more maleable than the fake stuff. It hasn't been in my budget but I'm considering it for just that reason for a project I have in mind. Can someone verify that.

It is sort of a fine point, but while the results described can be achieved, the explanation of the mechanism isn't correct. Suffice it to say that malleability of a metal is an inherent property and not a function of its thickness. In any event, rubbing out or smearing a metal is not quite the same thing as malleability.

Real gold leaf is typically 0.5 microns thick. In the real world, that means that it would take about 250 leaves to equal the thickness of a sheet of paper. Being so thin and fragile, it very easily crumbles into very tiny flakes (much finer than the Hobby Lobby stuff) and can have the appearance of being smeared onto a surface.

I do not know if one would use the same type of sizing as used for laying down sheets of leaf. I think that "rubbing out" is not the correct way to describe how to do it since it is so fragile. Any sort of rubbing might make a mess of the leaf and sizing. The typical "rubbing" that I am familiar with involves gently brushing the surface with a broad soft artist's brush.

 

[Malcolm Ray]

Gold leaf

Gold leaf can be "burnished" by rubbing with something like an agate burnishing stone,which itself is highly polished......it will bring the gold up to a brighter finish,but you must have done a really good job on the leafing in order to accomplish this.......it is somewhat like the burnishing of pottery to give it more shine........

 

[Matt Hutchinson]

Thanks for all the info! I think I have an idea of where to start now. 🙂

As for the burnishing, gold leaf can be burnished. The New Yankee Workshop had an episode that spent most of the allotted time addressing gilding. Burnishing was one technique that was demonstrated (by a pro, not Norm), and it made a significant difference in its appearance.

Well, I'm excited. I think I'll try out fake leaf and copper leaf first, then work my way up to the gold after some practice.

Hutch

 

[-e-]

might want to explore 'burnishing' gold leaf BEFORE you attempt this -- this step is usually only for water gilding and not for oil based.