Gilding.—Gold leaf is the only successful application. First put on a coat of Japan gold size, and when that is “tacky,” and nearly dry, lay on the gold-leaf and dab it with a small tuft of cotton-wool. Where you buy the gold-leaf you can buy a gilder’s tool for applying it; but in order to get a smooth surface it must (when perfectly dry) be burnished with an agate burnisher, which you will also get at the color-shop, but you will not be able to burnish gold-leaf on the bare wood. You can, if you like, varnish with pale copal varnish.
Gilding on Glass.—Glass letters are gilt the same way as you would a name on a glass door. You can easily get a good burnish if you take a little trouble. Get some of the best cotton wool at a chemist’s, and well polish the gold with it; the gold must be thoroughly dry. Then go over it with your size boiling hot; do not touch the same place twice with the brush, or you will bring the gold up; repeat the process three or four times, being sure to have your gold dry each time, the hotter the size the brighter will be the burnish; be careful, however, and not break the glass with the heat.
Gilding Fretwork, etc.—The first thing to be done is to whiten the work. To do this scrape some whitening very fine, place it in a pipkin with a lump of gilder’s size, and water sufficient to make it of the consistency of thick cream, when heated over a fire; then, with a camel-hair pencil, paint it on the object several times, allowing each coat to dry before applying the next. When the several coatings have raised it to the thickness of ¹⁄₁₆ in., set it aside for twelve or more hours, to harden; when hardened, smooth the surface with very fine sandpaper first, and finally with a piece of cork; when using the cork frequently dip it in water, and, when practicable, use it in a circular motion. Thus far successful, the next thing is to lay on the gold. To gild, then, dissolve some gilder’s—not common size—in water, and heat, and with a full brush lay it on the surface of the object. Cut the gold leaf, on a pad of buff leather, with a clean cut of the knife (much easier said than done; perseverance, however, with the cost of a book or two of gold mutilated, and a large amount of patience exhausted, will overcome the difficulty), to the size required; take these up on a tip (a row of long hairs placed between two bits of cardboard)—the professional way to do this is to strike the hair of the tip against the gilder’s own whiskers or hair—and gently lay them on the surface of the object, taking care that each succeeding piece slightly overlaps the preceding. When dry, a small piece of fine sponge, dipped in a weak solution of size water, should be gently passed over it to give a uniform appearance. If the bright gold requires to be deadened, deep ormolu should be used in a similar way after sizing. The yellow used for the ungilt portions consists of gilder’s yellow, dissolved in size water, and is put on with a brush.
Painting on Gilded Panels.—There is no preparation needed to paint in oils on a gilded panel. No mediums are required, the ordinary oil colors being used unmixed. If required to dry flat and to remain so, they are mixed with turpentine and left unvarnished. If the shiny look of oils is to be retained, they are slightly diluted with boiled oil, and varnish with white hard varnish when dry.
Gilding on Wood.—To gild in oil, the wood, after being properly smoothed, is covered with a coat of gold size, made of drying linseed oil mixed with yellow ochre; when this has become so dry as to adhere to the fingers without soiling them, the gold leaf is laid on with great care and dexterity, and pressed down with cotton wool; places that have been missed are covered with small pieces of gold leaf, and when the whole is dry, the ragged bits are rubbed off with cotton. This is by far the easiest mode of gilding; any other metallic leaves may be applied in a similar manner. Pale leaf gold has a greenish yellow color, and is an alloy of gold with silver. Dutch gold leaf is only copper colored with the fumes of zinc; being much cheaper than gold leaf, is very useful when large quantities of gilding are required in places where it can be defended by the weather, as it changes color if exposed to moisture, and it should be covered with varnish. Silver leaf is prepared every way the same as gold leaf; but when applied, should be kept well with varnish, otherwise it is liable to tarnish; a transparent yellow varnish will give it the appearance of gold.
Whenever gold is fixed by means of linseed oil, it will bear washing off, which burnished gold will not.
To Gild Letters.—When the sign is prepared as smooth as possible, go over it with a sizing made by white of an egg dissolved in about four times its weight of cold water; adding a small quantity of fuller’s earth, this to prevent the gold sticking to any part but letters. When dry, set out the letters and commence writing, laying on the size as thinly as possible, with a sable pencil. Let it stand until you can hardly feel a slight stickiness, then go to work with your gold leaf knife and cushion, and gild the letters. Take a leaf upon the point of your knife, after giving it a slight puff into the back part of your cushion, and spread it on the front part of it as straight as possible, give it another slight puff with your mouth to flatten it out. Now cut it to the proper size, cutting with the heel of your knife forwards. Now rub the tip of the knife lightly on your hair; take up the gold on the point, and place it neatly on the letters; when they are all covered, get some very fine cotton wool, and gently rub the gold until it is smooth and bright. Then wash the sign with clean water to take off the egg size.
Sign Writing in Colors, Etc.—On an oak ground ornamental letters, in ultra-marine blue, filled in with gold and silver leaf, blocked up and shaded with burnt sienna. Another.—Gold letters on a white marble ground, blocked up and shaded with a transparent brown or burnt sienna. On glass.—Gold letters shaded with burnt sienna. Another.—Gold letters shaded with black on a scarlet or chocolate ground. On a rich blue ground shaded with black, look very well. On a purple ground, pink letters shaded with white. Mix ultra-marine and vermilion for a ground color, white letters shaded with grey. Vermilion ground, chrome yellow stained and vermilion and lake, for the letters shaded with black.
A substitute for the above colors: Rose-pink and red lead; and for the letters stone yellow, white lead and Venetian red. Mix your colors for writing in boiled oil, and use for dryer gold size. Other good grounds for gold letters are, blues, vermilion, lake and Saxon. When your sign is ready for gilding, follow the directions under the head “To Gild Letters on Wood.”
Gilder’s Size.—Drying or boiled linseed oil, thickened with yellow ochre, or calcined red ochre, and carefully reduced to the utmost smoothness by grinding. It is thinned with oil of turpentine.