Any gold which may have stuck to the surrounding parchment, in spite of the pouncing, may be removed with the knife or with the hard indiarubber point, great care being taken not to touch the gilded size.
Burnishing the Gold.—The gold-leaf may be burnished immediately after laying when the size is very dry, but it is safer to wait for a quarter of an hour—or longer, if the size is at all damp (see Drying, p. [151]).
The slab is again put under the work, and the burnishing is begun very gently and cautiously: should the burnisher stick in the very least, it is instantly stopped (or else the gold will be scratched off), examined, and cleaned.
The first strokes of the burnisher are generally carried all over the work, very lightly and with a [p160] circular movement (fig. [109]), till the gold begins to feel smooth, and the matt surface gives place to a dull polish.
As the gold gets smoother a little more pressure is used, and the burnisher is moved in straight lines in every direction across the gold (fig. [110]). At this point the gold should have a peculiar and agreeable feeling of smoothness under the burnisher, an unmistakable sign that all is going well.