How to Use Gold Leaf for Gilding?

Restoring the gilded work of a building and bringing back its old charm requires great expertise, experience, along with right tools and materials. Restoration work must completely remove the earlier work and start over from scratch. Choosing the right material is an important part of bringing the old glory to the building. For example, top experts use high-quality pure gold leaf by famous Italian goldbeaters for their restoration work.

An artisan looks at two important factors to ensure that the restoration outcome is a success. These include the purity of the materials and how much attention is given to the application methods. If these two factors are carefully followed, one will be able to create an amazing exterior gilded object, the shine of which can last for decades.

Restoring gilded work to bring back the old shine

Here are some of the essential steps on how to use pure gold leaf to restore the gilded work of a building.

1. First step in the restoration work

First, find a suitable substratum. You have to prepare the surface so that when applying for restorative work, it properly sticks to the surface. Find whether there are any remains of the prior gilding work. If it is there, then remove it completely. To properly remove the earlier material, you can use blasting, grinding or chemicals.

2. Apply a high-quality primer that acts as a base for the gilding work

Once you have cleaned the outer surface on which gilding work is to be done, wash it with a solvent that is quick evaporating, like xylene or acetone. After the surface is ready, apply a premium quality primer (specially formulated for external use) over the surface. You can also apply the second primer to seal any cracks or evidence of bubbles that can affect the final look.

3. Applying the right size adhesive to the surface

After applying primer, the next step is to spread adhesive sizing. Here the word sizing refers to the type of adhesive you are applying to hold the gold leaf to the surface. When you are using genuine pure gold leaf by the famous Italian goldbeater, you must use an oil-based size adhesive.

4. Application of gold leaf gilding

This is one of the most important steps. You must apply gold leaf at a time when the adhesive applied is not completely wet but is a bit tacky. This will help in a long-lasting finish. Use small soft brushes to apply the gold leaf to the sizing accurately.

5. Burnished the surface to bring back the old charm

Once the gold leaf is applied to the adhesive, you must burnish the surface by removing any extra gold that is not properly adhering to the surface. 

Gilding is a skillful process that requires a lot of patience and a good understanding of the materials and methods to get the desired results.