Gold leafing on furniture

  I recently, this week, finished a gilding project on a rocking chair. A school name, the person the chair was awarded to and the dates of service. I elected to use a low tack vinyl stencil. I have found that unlike a mylar stencil with spray adhesive that allows your size to seep in, the low tack vinyls do not. You can have these cut for you at most reputable sign shops with plotters. I am fortunate to have a really nice shop nearby. I just give them the layout of words/dates and the dimensions and they do the rest.
   I placed the stencil on the chair back and burnish lightly to make sure its adhered well. On furniture I prefer the slow oil size. I feel it gives more time and I feel it is just a little more substantial than the quick. No proof, just what I observe in the final projects. The key at this point is a uniform thin coating making sure of no holidays and that all the letter edges and curves have been sized. I let it set for about an hour to two and remove the stencil. If you wait to remove it after gilding you risk the cured size on the stencil "pulling" the edges of your letters leaving them a little jagged. I then wait till tack time and lay the leaf. I take a soft burnishing brush and very lightly push the gold and swirl a bit to make sure all the size has leaf. My own preference at this point is to come back the next day and clean and burnish. I feel if you hurry this process you loose some of the golds brightness. Sometimes there is tiny little areas that size got to that needs cleaned up. I like using cotton swabs (Q-Tips) with a little mineral spirits. Of course before starting you should know what the finish paint is. You wouldn't want to clean the gold off oil paint with spirits.

A recent test of oil size

About a month ago I decided to make some sample "chips" using 23ct Manetti patent gold leaf using 4 different sizes, all oil, to see any differences there might be. I used Rolco Quick (3 hr.) Rolco Slow (12 hr.) Rolco Artisans and LeFranc 12 hour, (the old formula with lead) which can't be bought any more. In appearance they were all similar except the Rolco Artisans. It left the leaf somewhat matte looking. Recently I gilded a 600 sq. ft ceiling using this oil size. It took about 16-18 hrs to get to tack, and had plenty of working time. Actually could gild for 8-10 hrs and it would show no signs of setting. I also noticed that days later you could touch the gold and it would still seem like it was not cured. Same thing with my sample chip a month later. So being a closet chemist, I just had to play. I mixed some japan drier in it and made another chip. Using the same gold leaf in the same climate, my studio/garage. Happy results followed as I found the gold bright, not matte and to the touch it felt cured or dry as the Rolco Quick and Slow were. The Artisans is a nice size, maybe a touch too thin, but I highly recommend testing it in your climate before jumping into a project. I know that any future work using the Artisans size by me will have a little bit of driers added.

In the Beginning

We all start somewhere. Some read a book, get a "kit", take a class, or just experiment. I was fortunate enough to be hired and trained by a large nationally known decorative painting company. My first trainer, and I use that word loosely, was not very good at all. The second one, from Germany was first class. I was taught how, when, and why, and why not. Like a lot of things, making mistakes can be very educational. The first thing you learn with metal leaf when you make a mistake is that 99% of the time, you have to start over from scratch! Gilding can be unforgiving. Done right, extremely rewarding.
 My first job was using a water base size and 23ct gold. A combination I would probably not use today unless it was high on a ceiling. I find, as most gilders do, that oil size with real gold allows for a much more brilliant glow. It can tend to be a little matte looking on the water base. With composite leaf it works just fine.
 Of the water base (wb) sizes, two brands are the most common. Rolco Aqua size, and Wunda size. I personally prefer the Rolco Aqua, it will cure hard and the Wunda stays somewhat "gummy" never really getting hard. Both stay open for quite a long time, Aqua holding a tack for 24-36 hrs, depending some on climate, and Wunda the same and longer. I have a friend that went back on a job a year later for touch up and the Wunda still had tack. Probably had dirt too.
 Tack for both, meaning its ready to leaf, takes about 20-30 minutes. The knuckle test. You want to lightly touch a knuckle to it and pull away. You should hear a click. I like to do that plus I tend to lightly slide my knuckle, listening for the initial click and at the same time feeling a smooth somewhat hardening surface. After enough experience you'll know what I mean.
 My second job was with oil size, and that's another day.