Jim Hingst describes the step-by-step process of traditional water gilding including making gesso with rabbit skin glue; making and applying bole; applying gold leaf; and burnishing the gold.
By Jim Hingst
While
you might have experience in oil gilding exterior signage or water gilding on glass, you may never have attempted traditional water gilding, or what is also
called bole gilding. This technique is used for interior applications,
primarily gilding wood picture frames. The process involves coating the wood with
several layers of gesso and clay bole.
After the bole is applied, its surface is rewet with what is called
gilder’s liquor, and gold is applied onto the object. The final step in this
time-consuming process is burnishing or polishing the gilded surface to a
brilliant finish.
Because
traditional water gilding is labor intensive and requires additional material
and special skills, it is much more expensive process than surface gilding with
oil size. The quality of the gild,
however, is worth the additional expense, if you are trying to achieve the most
brilliant and most highly polished gild possible.
Water Gilding Background.
Dating back several hundreds of years ago, artists and craftsmen of the Renaissance used the bole gilding to apply gold to paintings, statuary and furniture. With the rise of the guilds during this period, specialized gilding trades developed. These specialists included gold beaters, who pounded gold into leaf material, and frame gilders, who decorated the moldings of picture frames.
Since many furniture makers also made picture
frames, the practice of gilding decorative motifs, was soon adopted to embellish
furniture and architectural elements.
Passed down from one generation to another, the water gilding process
has essentially remained the same for hundreds of years.
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| Tools of the Gilder's Trade |
What Gilding Equipment & Materials Must You Have.
Most of the tools are the same ones used for gilding in the sign industry. Some of the materials used in traditional water gilding, however, are quite different. Below is a list of equipment and supplies that you will need:- Gilder’s Tip – Gilders use a special brush called a gilder’s tip to transfer pieces of gold leaf from the gilder’s cushion to the substrate.
- Gilder’s Knife – A gilder’s knife features a long, flat blade used to cut the gold leaf into pieces. It should be sharp and smooth enough to cut the gold without snagging or tearing the leaf. Is a special knife absolutely necessary for cutting gold leaf into sections? Probably not. But it’s nice to have. You could probably get away with using a pocket knife or a table knife, but it must be sharp and without any burrs that will tear the leaf. Some of the old time gilders would allow their finger nail of either their pinky finger or index finger to grow long, and would use it to cut the gold. It works good enough, just as long as you don’t have a hang nail.
- Gilder’s Cushion – Consisting of a wooden board covered with suede leather, the gilder’s cushion holds the gold leaf in place as it is cut with a gilder’s knife. Many commercial gilder’s cushions have a wind screen that prevents unexpected breezes from blowing the gold leaf away.
- Polishing Stone – In the Middle Ages, gilders used a polishing stone called a “dog’s tooth” to burnish gold. The tool was given this name because originally the gilders used the canine tooth of animals, such as dogs and hogs, for polishing gold. The smooth surface of the animal tooth did a good job of polishing. The dog’s tooth had one shortcoming. It was prone to breakage. Today, agate polishing stones have replaced the dog’s tooth. Agates are very smooth, flexible, and most importantly, durable. Available in a variety of shapes, the agate is joined to a wooden handle with a metal ferrule.
- Hog bristle brushes – Available in a variety of sizes and shapes, such as fitches, filberts and flats, bristle brushes are used to coat the gesso and bole onto the surface to be gilded.
- Mop brush – A bushy round-shaped squirrel hair brush used to apply gilder’s liquor to the bole, rewetting the surface before laying gold leaf. Also used to tamp gold leaf into hard to get at crevices as well as to brush away excess gold leaf.
- Horsehair cloth - Used to polish the bole to a smooth finish before gilding.
- Double boiler or crock pot – Used to heat rabbit skin glue and gesso mixture.
- Digital measuring scale – When you are following a recipe, pay close attention to whether the ingredients should be measured by weight or my volume. Digital scales are inexpensive, and are worth the money for accurately measuring solid ingredients by weight.
- Kitchen measuring cups and spoons – You will need an assortment of kitchen measuring cups and spoons to measure ingredients by volume. Liquids are usually measured by volume. Dry ingredients are usually (but not always) measured by weight, requiring a scale.
- Flour sifter or metal sieve – Have you made gravy before? Nothing’s worse than lumpy gravy. The same holds true for gesso. To prevent lumps in your gesso, add the whiting using a sifter or a metal sieve.
Raw Materials.
- Rabbit Skin Glue (RSG) – Rabbit skin glue has the longest straight molecular chain of any glue. This property makes it very elastic. Because of its flexibility, rabbit skin glue is tremendously strong. It bends but doesn’t break. Available in pellets, granules, and sheet, the RSG is mixed with water and heated to a temperature between 98.6° F to 120° F. Don’t overheat the glue mixture or you will ruin its adhesive properties. (NOTE: Animal hide glue is not the same thing as RSG. Hide glue is too brittle and will crack as the wood expands and contracts.)
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| Rabbit Skin Glue is very flexible and strong. It is not the same thing as animal hide glue. |
- Whiting – In making gesso, whiting, which is ground up limestone or chalk, is mixed with rabbit skin glue.
- Distilled water – Tap water contains minerals that can discolor the gold leaf. When mixing rabbit skin glue, clay bole and gilder’s liquor, always use distilled water.
- Sieves & Paint Strainers – After mixing and heating the gesso, it is important to strain the mixture to remove any lumps. Paint strainers from your local hardware store are OK. Fine sieves, which you can buy at a culinary store, work better.
- Bole – Available in a variety of colors, bole is clay coated in very thin layer on top of the gesso. The color that you select is critical, because it tone the gold leaf, which is applied on top of it.
- Gilder’s Liquor - A mixture of distilled water, denatured alcohol and a little rabbit skin glue. This mixture is the size used in water gilding. Some gilder’s use grain alcohol as an alternative for denatured alcohol. You can also use isopropyl alcohol. If you are making shellac from dry flakes, you can also buy nearly pure denatured alcohol at www.toolsforworkingwood.com. Their denatured alcohol is 99.5% ethanol and .5% denaturant, which makes the liquor undrinkable.
- Gold Leaf. Very thin sheets of gold are generally sold in booklets of 25 pieces. The purity of the gold is measured in karats. Pure gold is 24 karats. Other metals, such as copper and silver are added to the real gold to alter its physical properties, such as coloration and hardness. The addition of copper, for example, can impart a warmer reddish hue to the gold. With the addition of silver, the appearance of the gold becomes more pale. Much of the gold leaf sold to gilders is 23 ½ or 23 karats. 23XX deep gold is what is normally sold. There is, however, 23XXX gold, which is slightly thicker. Lemon gold, which is a popular choice for water gilding glass, is about 18 karats. Even lighter in color is pale gold, which is approximately 16 karats. The lightest color of gold leaf is white gold, which is about 12 karats (comprised of 50% gold and 50% silver).
Barnabas Blattgold - Genuine Gold Leaf Sheets, Professional Quality , 24 karat, (Loose Leaf)
● 25
sheets in a booklet of Genuine Gold Leaf. 3 1/8" x 3 1/8".
● Covers
approximately 1.6 sq of flat area.
- Vasoline or Chap Stick. Sign makers have traditionally rubbed either Vasoline petroleum jelly or Vasoline Intensive Care onto their forearms, and by brushing the hairs of the gilder’s tip over the ointment, the brush hairs becomes tacky enough to pick up and transfer gold leaf to the substrate. As an alternative to the Vasoline products, Dr. Francis Lestingi recommends Chap Stick. You can also brush the gilder’s tip over your hair. Purists recommend neither technique. If you want the least amount of oily contamination on your gold, you can charge the brush by pulling the hairs between your cheek and the back of your hand.
How Should You Prepare the Surface.
Done correctly, the gilded work of art assumes the appearance of a solid gold object. The key to attaining the desired level of perfection is proper prior preparation.
Some woods are well suited for water gilding.
Others are not and should be avoided. If
you do any wood carving, you are probably very familiar with basswood. This is a very soft wood, with a very fine
grain providing a smooth finished surface, after it is sanded with a fine grit
paper.
Typically basswood also does not
contain oils, which can bleed through the layers of gesso and bole, discoloring
the gild. Woods, such as pine, contain
oils, which are very problematic and, for all practical purposes, make them
unsuitable. Oils and sap in the wood,
will not only bloom to the surface, discoloring the gold, but can also cause
the gesso to delaminate from the wood.
Prior to the application of gesso, you should
fill any nail holes and dings in the wood.
Jill London of the Society of Gilders
(www.societyofgilders.org),
who teaches traditional water gilding, recommends Durham’s Rock Hard Water Putty. The putty, which comes
in powdered form, is mixed with water to form a paste. Don’t mix the wood putty
too thin. It should have some body to it.
An important feature of the putty is that it dries fast – really
fast. The advantage is that you don’t
have to wait very long after applying it to sand it.
The saying is that
you can’t judge a book by its cover. The same holds true for judging a product
by its packaging. The design on the can
of Durham’s Rock Hard Water Putty is flat out cheesy and out of date. But
what’s in the can has stood the test of time – since the Depression.
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Durham's Water Putty bonds well to wood, dries rock hard and does not shrink, even years after it has been applied.Durhams Rock Hard Water Putty
● Great
for filling holes and cracks in wood.
● Does
Not Shrink
● Easy
To Use
|
Durham’s Water
Putty is a gypsum-based powder, which is mixed with water and used as a wood
filler. When the water putty hardens, it becomes, as the name on the packaging
suggests, “rock hard”. Work fast when
using this product, because it cures in short order.
One reason that
craftsmen swear by this product, is that bonds to wood like white on rice and
doesn’t shrink, even years after it has been applied. This makes it perfect for filling holes,
gouge marks and cracks in picture frames, antique furniture, and wood carvings.
When you work with
Durham’s Water Putty, only mix a small amount that you use within five to ten
minutes. Since the water putty will
harden rock hard, you may want to mix it in a clean tin can that you can toss
in the garbage when you are done.
The directions on
the can indicate that you should add one part of distilled water at room
temperature to three parts of the powder.
This will produce a putty with the consistency of bread dough. You can mix the water putty so that it is a
little juicier – to the consistency of sour cream.
Whatever you do,
don’t use hot water to mix up a batch of putty.
The heat of the water will accelerate the curing time, resulting in the
putty hardening, before you have a chance to use it.
Be sure to keep
your greasy, grubby paws off of the wood or you could contaminate the surface,
compromising the adhesion of the water putty to the substrate.
You can use a craft
stick or putty knife apply the putty, or you can use your fingers. After you
press the putty into the nail holes or cracks and crevices in the surface of
the wood, wait about twenty to forty minutes for it to set up. Small nail
holes, should be ready to sand within this time. If you have filled a bigger hole with the
putty, you will probably have to wait anywhere from four hours to a day before
sanding. Be sure to wear a dust mask and
safety glasses and work in a well-ventilated area, when sanding.
If you keep a tight
lid on the powder, Durham’s Water Putty will be good to use for years.
After filling in any holes, sand the wood with a 150 grit sandpaper and
wipe the surface clean with a tack cloth. Sanding serves two functions. Not
only does it smooth the surface of the substrate, it also helps to raise the
grain of the wood, which gives the substrate some tooth for the gesso to adhere
to.
How do You Rehydrate the Rabbit
Skin Glue.
In
its dry state rabbit skin glue is dehydrated glue. To rehydrate the glue you must add water at a
ratio of 10 parts of water to 1 part glue.
Below is the basic recipe, that Jill London and many other gilders
recommend:
Recipe for Rabbit Skin Glue.
- In a clean glass canning jar with a lid add 28 grams of rabbit skin granules or pellets by weight. (Note: 28 grams equals one ounce.)
- Add 10 ounces (or 1-¼ cups by volume) of distilled water to the glue, and cover the jar to prevent any contamination.
- Wait at least 2 to 3 hours for the rabbit skin glue to absorb the water. Better yet, mix the RSG and water the day before you intend to use it and allow it to soak over night.
- Before heating the glue, strain the mixture using a kitchen strainer.
- In a double boiler, heat the glue/water mixture to a temperature between 98.6°F and 110° F. Carefully monitor the temperature using a candy thermometer. You can also monitor the temperature of the water with your hand. The water should feel warm. If the water is too hot to put your hand in it, it is too hot for the glue. Excessively high temperatures above 120˚F will destroy the adhesive properties of the glue. Continue to heat the glue until all of the granules have dissolved and disappear. If you overheat the glue, throw it away and start over.
Note:
you can store the 10:1 RSG mixture in a refrigerator for up to two weeks. After
that, the glue will decompose and spoil.
How to Seal or Size the Wood.
After sanding, you need to brush on a thinned coating of the rabbit skin glue, at a ratio of 20 parts of water to 1 part RSG. Take one part of the 10:1 RSG and mix it with one part distilled water. This will give you a 20:1 RSG mixture.
Before dipping your brush in the RSG mixture,
wet it and squeeze out the moisture between your thumb and forefinger. Do not
pull on the hairs of the brush, or you could pull them out. Liberally coat the
surface of the wood with the 20:1 mixture.
This coating will raise the grain of the wood, giving it some texture
for the glue to grab onto. This is an important step that ensure good adhesion
of the gesso to the wood substrate. If any part of the frame was not sized, you could experience
delamination of the gesso from the wood.
Some people have the misconception that the
glue forms a barrier preventing the transmission of moisture between the wood
and the layers of gesso and clay on top of it.
Not at all. Instead the water-based coating of sealer allows the wood to
expand and contract as it gains or loses moisture.
Some gilders will brush on a second thin
layer of the 20:1 rabbit skin glue, applied about twenty minutes after the
first coating. The application of the second coating of glue helps fill in some
of the grain, if you are working with open grained woods, such as oak and
walnut.
The light layers of glue also help bind the
subsequent layers of gesso the wood. For smooth surfaces, you can use a bristle
brush, such as a flat or a fitch. Or you
can use a sable brush. If you are applying the glue to irregular crevices on
the frame, a filbert may help getting into the tight spots.
Selecting the type of wood is important,
because a smooth, even grained wood serves as a good base or footing for the
foundation of gesso, which is applied over it.
What is the Recipe for Gesso.
After you have sanded and sealed the wood, keep your grubby paws off of the substrate as much as possible. Oils from your skin can contaminate the surface, preventing good adhesion of the gesso to the sealed wood.
As
smooth as the carved wood surface may be, it most likely has tiny
imperfections. Left uncorrected, any
imperfections, regardless of how minute they may be, will be magnified, after
highly polished gold is applied. One function that the gesso serves is to fill
in the chips, cracks and other defects, providing a smooth surface for
subsequent layers.
The
main ingredient used in preparing the gesso layer is calcium carbonate (CaCO3
), which is found naturally in limestone, chalk and ground up sea shells. If you have ever used whiting, that is calcium
carbonate. The calcium carbonate is
mixed with a binder, such as rabbit skin glue. When you are buying whiting,
caveat emptor (buyer beware). Not all
whiting is the same. The grit of the
product will vary from one part of the world to another. To ensure that you are
buying the type of whiting that you will need for this type of gilding, buy
from a gilding supplier, such as Wehrung & Billmeier (www.wbgoldleaf.com).
When
working on wood, rabbit skin glue is typically used as the binder. It, however, is not the only glue that is
used. When gilding a manuscript, fish
eye glue was often used, because it was more flexible. Another binder was parchment glue, which was
made by cutting parchment into little bits and boiling the pieces.
To
build up a perfectly smooth surface, several layers of this mixture are
liberally applied with a brush.
In
addition to the calcium carbonate and rabbit hide glue, other components are
added to the mixture. The addition of
linseed oil, for example, can improve the flow out of the gesso, yielding a
smoother surface.
While
gesso will fill in the pores on the surface of the wood, it does not seal the
wood. Rather, since the gesso is
hygroscopic, it allows the wood to absorb and release humidity as the
atmosphere changes. This lets the wood
expand and contract naturally. Although the gesso expands and contract at the
same rate as the wood, the gesso is not
flexible material. Cracking of the gesso
at the corner joints is common. For this
reason, fabric material is often applied over the joints to prevent cracking.
During
the very best of conditions, it can take days for the gesso to completely
dry. High relative humidity can prolong
the process extending the drying period to weeks.
After
the gesso is completely dry, the next
step in the water gilding process is to apply the bole, which is a type
of clay. It is available in many
different colors. These include red,
yellow and blue. The color of the clay
is important. The reason is that real
gold leaf is somewhat translucent. The
color of the bole to which the leaf is applied, will impart a cast to the
gold. Yellow clay will enhance the true
color of the gold. Red clay, on the
other hand, will give the make the gold appear warmer.
Gesso
combines a filler, which is the calcium carbonate, with a binder, which is the
rabbit skin glue. The strength of the
gesso is directly related to the ratio of the filler to the binder. That ratio is very important to how the gesso
performs. If too much filler comprises
the mixture, the binder cannot hold the mixture together and the gesso can crumble
when pressure is applied to it. If the
mixture has too much binder, the gesso becomes too hard. When this happens the
gesso can shrink and crack and can break away from the wood.
The
ratio of rabbit skin glue to whiting is critical in determining the hardness of
the gesso. The more glue that you add to
the mixture, the harder the gesso will become. As you add more whiting, the
gesso becomes softer. If the gesso is too soft, it can crumble under
pressure. The harder the gesso is, the
more brilliant the burnish can be. So
why not mix the strongest gesso you can?
One problem is that the harder the gesso is, the more difficult and time
consuming it is to sand. Even worse, if the gesso is too hard, it can become
brittle and potentially can crack.
The
amount of water in the gesso mixture does not affect its hardness. It does, however, determine the viscosity of
the gesso. Thin mixtures are easier to
brush, and yield a smoother finish surface with less brush marks. The disadvantage is that you will need to
apply more layers of these thin coatings to achieve the desired thickness.
Thick
mixtures require fewer layers of gesso.
If the gesso is too thick, you will produce brush marks. If you see
brush marks as you are coating the gesso, you should thin the mixture with
distilled water.
As
mentioned earlier, coatings are applied wet on wet. Subsequent layers are
applied to previous ones before the gesso dries. If the gesso dries before you
coating the next layer, you can rewet or dampen the surface with a wet sponge.
Because
the ratios of the various components are very important, follow any of the
recipes to the letter when you are starting out. You can always vary the recipes, after you
have experience under your belt. When
you are mixing the components of the recipes all dry ingredients are measured
by weight; all liquid ingredients are measured by volume. That means that you will need an accurate
digital scale and graduated glass measuring cups.
The
recipes below are adapted from An Introduction to Water Gilding by Marty
Horowitz and Lou Tilmont, Second Edition. 2007. Their book is essential reading
for anyone serious about water gilding.
Recipe for Gesso
- Remove the glue mixture in the above recipe from the double boiler. To this mixture gradually add 1.5 cups of whiting. To prevent lumps, use a flour sifter to add the whiting. By sifting the whiting you will prevent lumps. Using a wooden spoon slowly stir the mixture until the ingredients are completely combined, taking care not to form bubbles. Bubbles in the mixture can result in pinholes in the gesso. Vigorous stirring as you are heating the mixture will generate bubbles in the gesso. Bubbles in the mixture quite often result in pinholes after the gesso dries on the substrate. To prevent the creation of bubbles, gently stir the mixture.
- On top of the glue/whiting mixture, add 1 tablespoon of denatured alcohol and ½ teaspoon of boiled linseed oil. Allow the glue/whiting mixture to rest for one hour. The alcohol and linseed oil will help dissipate any bubbles which have formed.
- After the resting period, strain the mixture twice through a paint strainer.
If
you want to make sure that the gesso is neither too hard nor too soft, follow
the recipe exactly. Will any one recipe be perfect for every working
environment? Probably not. Differences
in humidity and shop temperature may require that you modify the recipe to
satisfy your unique requirements.
Apply
the gesso while it is still warm, this will ensure good flow out. Some gilders recommend the addition of boiled
linseed oil the gesso to improve the flow of the gesso and ensure a smooth
coating. Other gilders recommend against it, believing that the oil
contaminates the mixture, potentially compromising the adhesion of the gesso to
the wood.
Different
types of brushes are used to apply the gesso to the wooden substrate. If you are applying the mixture to the
intricately carved detail, you will want to use a stiff bristle brush, such as
a fitch or a filbert. On the other hand,
you should use a sable brush or a quill to apply the gesso to the flat smooth
surfaces of your carving or picture frame.
In
applying the first couple of coatings, you should brush thick coating of the
gesso. That being said, don’t lay it on
too thick allowing the gesso to puddle in the crevices.
Typically
six to eight coatings of gesso are applied to the wood frame or carving. After you apply the initial coating of gesso,
you should apply each subsequent coating before the previous coating is
completely dry. This practice ensures
good intercoat adhesion between layers of coating.
Sanding the Gesso.
After you have coated the wood with gesso and have allowed to it dry thoroughly, you should sand it. Any imperfections in the surface will often result in imperfections in the subsequent layers of clay. In turn, these imperfections will glaringly show up when you lay the leaf.
In
sanding the gesso, you will typically use with 400-grit wet/dry sandpaper. In using the sandpaper dry, this very fine
grit will gradually level and smooth the surface of the gesso. Most beginners will want to sand dry. While dry
sanding can be a slow process, you are less likely to cut through the gesso and
sand right down to the wood. As you sand
the wood, don’t over handle the surface, because you could potentially
contaminate the gesso with skin oils.
Some gilder’s will hold the piece that they work on with clean toweling
or wear a clean cotton glove.
As
you become more experienced, you may want to try wet sanding. This is a much faster process, but requires
extra care so you don’t pull the gesso off of the surface. After soaking the wet/dry paper in water,
lightly sand the surface.
When
you are finished the surface should be as smooth as silk. Carefully inspect the
surface for any imperfections. Because
your sense of touch is much more acute than your eyesight, rub your fingers
over the sanded gesso to find any rough spots. Also look for any other defects, such as pinholes.
How do You Prepare the Bole.
After several coatings of gesso are applied, several layers of bole, which is a very fine clay mixed with rabbit skin glue and distilled water, are coated onto the substrate. Bole is available in a variety of colors, including yellow, red, green, blue, black and grey. You can also mix different colors of clay to create your own colors.
Bole
is available as either dry cone clay or as a wet medium. The recipe below uses
the wet clay.
Bole Recipe
- Combine the following ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon of wet clay medium
- 3 Tablespoons of distilled water
- 2 Tablespoons of 10:1 RSG
- Thoroughly mix the ingredients until the clay has dissolved. Then strain the bole through a sieve to catch any lumps.
While gesso is a very
thick coating, that is applied wet on wet, the
bole is very thin, water mixture that is applied wet on dry. If you lay
on the bole before the previous coating is completely dry, the thick deposit of
wet clay could mud crack after it dries.
The Water Gilding Process.
Applying the multiple layers of gesso and bole is time-consuming, but the process is not difficult to learn. The really tricky part is laying the leaf. If you have done any water gilding on glass, you should have no problem. Newbees, on the other hand, will have to experience a challenging learning curve as they develop the dexterity needed to lay gold.
Before
you can start laying leaf, you will need to prepare the Gilder’s Liquor. It’s called a liquor, because the old timers
used gin in their recipes. Today’s concoctions call for isopropyl alcohol. The
recipe that Jill London (www.londongild.com) recommends is given
below:
- In the bottom of a small jar, pour ¼” of warm distilled water.
- Add a piece of prepared rabbit skin glue about the size of a pea to the water. Wait for it to dissolve.
- Add ½ cup of cold distilled water and a ¼ cup of isopropyl alcohol to the jar.
While
there are several different types of gold leaf, your best choice for
traditional water gilding is XX 23 karat leaf. In gilding will need to cut the
gold leaf into workable pieces. Check
you gilder’s knife for any burrs that could snag the leaf. Then, using alcohol, wipe the blade clean of
any oils.
Beginning
at the back of the book, place a piece of matte board behind the rouge paper
supporting the last sheet of gold leaf in the book. Then cut the gold leaf to the size needed
with your knife.
To
reactivate the rabbit skin glue in the bole, you will need to wet the surface
with gilder’s liquor. Using a gilder’s
brush, wet the surface to be gilded with the liquor, brushing the area several
times.
With
the surface wet, transfer the leaf with your gilder’s tip. To pick up the piece
of gold, charge your gilder’s tip with the skin oils of your face. Then lay the tip of the hairs of the brush on
the piece of gold. Wiggling the gilder’s
tip slightly from side to side can help secure the leaf to the brush hairs.
You
will remember that I intimated that this process takes a little dexterity. The
snapping motion of your wrist that you will have to master approximates a
swinging door.
Did
you see the movie “Hitch”? The kissing
lesson that Hitch, played by Will Smith, teaches Albert (Kevin James) best
describes the how you should lay leaf. If you are going to kiss your date,
Smith tells James to go 90% of the distance and let her go the remaining
10%.
The
same advice applies to water gilding. Swing the tip of the brush almost all the
way to the wet surface. As the gold on the gilder’s tip comes close to the wet
surface, the water will attract the leaf for a clean transfer. At least, that’s
the way the process is supposed to work.
In
the real world, the gold will occasionally transfer with rips in the leaf. Not to worry. Just cut a piece of gold and
apply it over the rip.
Burnishing the Gild.
In the sign industry, we usually misuse the term “burnish.” To the purists in the gilding field, brushing the surface of gold leaf or rubbing it with cotton is not burnishing. Here’s why. In traditional water gilding, burnishing is synonymous with polishing. This isn’t at all what we do in oil gilding an outdoor sign. Rather every time we rub or brush the surface, we put tiny scratches on it, actually dulling the brilliance of the gold.
Burnishing
in the traditional water gilding process is completely different. Using an
agate, the surface of the gold is burnished.
Burnishing serves two functions in water gilding. First, it enhances the brilliance of the
gold. Second, by pressing on the gold with the agate burnisher, you press the
gold into the clay improving its adhesion to the surface.
While
many people believe that the burnishing polishes the gold, you are actually
polishing the clay bole underneath the gold.
As the finish or texture of the bole becomes smoother and more polished,
the gold mirrors the texture of the bole underneath it.
Video about burnishing gold leaf
Video about burnishing gold leaf
Surface Finishes.
When have finished burnishing, the gilded object should look like a solid gold. After all the effort that goes into making something absolutely brilliant, why would you want to distress or antique it? In some cases, that’s exactly the look that people want to achieve.
Antiquing
taken to the extreme can include scratches, gouge marks, fly specks and even
worm holes. All of this in an effect to
make something bright, shiny and new look centuries old. In less extreme cases, you may want to simply
tone down the brilliance of the gild in
some areas to add some shading.
Conclusion.
There are several approaches to learning this very traditional method of gilding. You can follow the step-by-step procedures in this article, which will get you started. Much of your learning, however, will be through trial and error. Mostly error.
If
you want to accelerate your learning curve, you can also take a course. The Society of Gilders (SOG) offers a course
on traditional water gilding as well as courses on many other gilding
techniques. If you are a gilder, or interested in learning about gilding, this is an opportunity to join other skilled craftsmen for a week-long celebration of the gilding arts. For more information, visit their website at www.societyofgilders.org.
RECOMMENDED READING
About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.
© 2018 Jim Hingst
RECOMMENDED READING
An Introduction to Water Gilding
Practical Gilding
Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer. Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.
Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for publications, such as Signs Canada, SignCraft, Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 325 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.
© 2018 Jim Hingst
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