How Traditional Gilding Techniques Survive in a World of Gold Paint

Gold paint, the aerosol-sprayed substitute adorning picture frames in every homeware shop, is not gold. It is typically bronze or aluminium powder in lacquer that tarnishes within months. Genuine gold leaf gilding maintains its brilliance for centuries, which is why the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem still gleams after thirteen hundred years.

Traditional water gilding begins with preparing the surface with multiple coats of gesso, chalk and rabbit-skin glue, sanded to glass-like smoothness. Over the gesso, bole, a fine clay tinted with iron oxide, is applied in coats and burnished. This layer provides colour and cushion giving gilding its characteristic depth.

The gold leaf, beaten to one-tenth of a micrometre, is laid onto the bole after moistening with water or gelatine. The moisture reactivates bole's glue creating adhesion. The gilder lifts fragile leaf on a squirrel hair tip and positions it with a single decisive motion. Once the leaf touches wet surface, it bonds instantly.

Burnishing transforms applied gold from matte to mirror lustre. Using an agate burnisher, the gilder rubs with firm pressure. The agate compresses the leaf against the bole, smoothing irregularities and increasing reflectance. The transformation from dull to brilliant is dramatic with each stroke.

The economics of genuine gilding are less prohibitive than assumed. A book of gold leaf costs roughly fifty pounds and covers modest areas. A picture frame requires two to three books, making gold itself a small fraction of total cost, dominated by skilled labour of preparation and application.

If you own a gilded antique, resist the temptation to repaint with gold paint. Consult a professional gilder who can assess the original surface and repair using compatible traditional techniques. Preservation maintains both beauty and value. Find a gilder at https://www.societyofgilders.org