STEP 2 : FINAL FINISHED EFFECT & SEAL THE SURFACE

These step hast two purposes:

1. Obtain an effect on the final finished
2. Seal the surface

This step varies according to the final finished effect of the surface you will be gilding. It is the most important phase of any project, since proper preparation not only makes gilding easier but to get excellent quality result.

You may decide not use a this step on some object you will be gilding items that do not need much preparation and are ready to accept the Tallo adhesive size, or that are already a color you perfect.

Use brush, sprite or roll-over:

Apply the first water based primer or sealer on the surface. The type of product (water or oil-based), depends on the final treatment you are creating. The first based-coat must dry several hours or overnight.

Before any second based-coats of primer or sealer are applied, the preliminary coating is sanded. This is done both to remove any dust or foreign particles that may have settled on the wet paint and to reduce the differing levels of the brush strokes and for eliminating waves in the paint surface. Before the surface has been sanded, it feels slightly gritty; after sanding, it feels satin smooth. The work is done with from #220 to #320 grit sand-paper or steel wool from #2 to #00 even. And then be dusted with a tack cloth before the application of a succeeding paint coat

They should be sanded further. If the grain and cracks of the wood itself is still apparent, a pasta mixture or filler is applied to the surface again. The filling must of course dry and be sanded smoothly with sandpaper or steel wool before the next application of paint.

Step optional

This third coat of paint are applied, must also dry, be sanded from #220 to 320 grit or #0 to #00 steel wool as described before. Many coats of paint-each well sanded-confer a handsome body to the piece. “Body” implies paint of such thickness and depth that it integrates with the piece. Three to four coats are required to achieve this. People instinctively feel a beautiful piece of furniture, unconsciously seeking the pleasure of the tactile sensation induced by the depth of the paint body and the smoothness of its surface.

Antique, distress and old finishes

To get antique, distress or look old finishes, you should apply red ocher or black paint based coat.

Gold and silver finished

To get gold or silver final finished effect, without faults or cracks, the last base coat you should apply metallic paint. Their come in commercial metallic spray paint are available at paint or hardware store. Also you can use yellow ochre paint or gray paint colors. You may also mix bronze powder or aluminum powder with a varnish or lacquer to make your own metallic paints.

Final step process (creation professional body surface)   

To obtain final process of this step you must apply a clear paint on the last base coat, you can use varnish, lacquer, sealer, polyurethane or clear. Now the surface is ready to apply Tallo adhesive size.

For painting large surface and objects, your local paint store will be able to supply you with primer solvent-based and water-based, sealer solvent-based and water-based (oil-based) or acrylic and latex paints in a wide range of colors.

Metal Surface

If the metal object has been previously prepared “step 1” and painted with primer colored, now the metal surfaces usually is ready to apply primer paint, bole or adhesive size.

You may decide create a “body surface” as describe before.

STEP 3: APPLY THE ADHESIVE SIZE

Tools:

• Nitrile or Latex Gloves
• Cotton wool
• Paint brush or camel hair brush

Choice of small objects for the first trials, the best begins with inexpensive frames ornaments or with sample board wood

Surface application

Gilder’s tip A: for the adhesive to slide smoothly on the surface and get thinnest film: dilute adhesive size with water in a bowl (from 90% to 80% adhesive-size- to 10%-20% water)

Application of adhesive-size to a surface is more readily accomplished with a cotton wool, paint brush or camel hair brush of suitable proportions.

The object is to cover the surface with the thinnest possible film, avoid adhesive size excess, drops, bubbles and squirt. A brush is essential for carvings in order to reach deep into the interstices, molding or applied design,

This tip B is optional: help to get a “thin film surface“and “removes adhesive size excess, drops, bubbles and squirt”, for creates a better finished product.

Dilute adhesive size with water in a bowl (from 70% adhesive-size- to 30% water)   

Used a cotton cloth or cotton wool, wet a cloth and squeeze .

You will need work fast, after the surface has been covered, it is worked over again, wet a cloth and squeeze it, then remove the first layer of adhesive size, gently and one way directions in order to get super thin film surface, Wet and squeeze the cloth as often as necessary

After the surface has been covered wait for it to become tacky, or reaches tack 30 minutes before applying the leaf. it will remain tacky for several hours before it dries completely and loses tack.

Experienced gilders advise that applying the leaf 4 hours after or went the tallo adhesive size has almost lost its tack gives the best result. They also believe the adhesive size that takes the longest to reach tack creates a better finished product

Tallo water adhesive size become tacky in 30 minutes and remains tacky for 30 hours. Weather can affect the time it takes for any adhesive size to become tacky, so take into account humid and dry condition.

STEP 4: LAY THE LEAF

Tools:

• Cotton gloves
• Cotton wool
• Cleaning brush (skewing scrap)
• Gilding brush
• Pick-up leaf tool

Pick up Leaf Tips

Tip A) Pick-Up Tools: put one “pick-up leaf tool” on the upstairs leaf to about 2 inches distance of the edge and with the other “pick-up leaf tool” hold dawn the side leaf below and blow gently on the upstairs leaf edge and repeat the process on the other side (use the side where you can see the sheet that is below).

Tip B Gilder’s tip or artist-brush: Spread a little Vaseline (petroleum jelly) on to your forearm and brush the Gilder’s tip over the vaseline, using the tip, remove the leaf from the pad.

Gilding on flat surfaces

Lay the leaf on to the sized area, slide and gently press into place with pick-up tool. Proceeding from left to right, each overlapping the preceding one by about 1/2”; the overlap must all be in the same direction. The process is repeated until the surface is covered. Small faults are ignored as they can be remedied with “skewing” (the remaining particles of leaf resulting from the overlaps these are called skewings).

The object to be leafed is placed on a box lid or a piece of carpet or foot mat.

Gilding on Carved, Curves, Angles, molding and ornaments Surfaces

Once layer of leaf is placed on the area with just enough pressure to secure it, a second layer is now placed on top of the first one; finally are firmly pushed wherever necessary with a gilding-brush and cotton-wool, since the second layer of leaf and the skewing fill in all the breaks caused by the multi—level surface. To fill exceedingly tiny recesses, however, it is sometime necessary to use a thin-pin tool dipped in skewing and firmly pressed into the recesses.

You may need more than one or two layer of leaf to cover the curves, angles, and crevices of these objects.

The beginner should not be dismayed by fault—even a master does not avoid them! When faults are impossible to reach, that is the moment for gold or silver powder or yellow ochre or gray based primer to come to the rescue.

You may notice that small cracks occur during the leafing process and expose the based primer with color underneath the leaf. You can leave these “faults” if they give you the desired look you want for your finished project.

Wait a few minutes or hours before proceeding to Step 5, to allow the adhesive-size to dry slightly or lower the adhesive-size strength.

STEP 5 REMOVES THE EXCESS LEAF SURFACE

Material: Gilding Wax

Tools:

• Cotton gloves
• Cotton wool
• Cleaning-brush

Rub the gilded area

With cotton wool, gently tamp the leaf in to place, and raised areas and start rubbing to removes the excess leaf residues, always in the direction of the overlap to prevent the leaf from tearing, also you can use cleaning brush to remove any loose leaf or skewings. (Scrap leaf leftover from this step, these are called skewings).

It is important that these instructions be followed to the letter, the edges of skewing be pulled away at the joining. Being careful to prevent the cotton wool (tamper) from touching exposed spots that retain the adhesive size (for this would smear the leaf already laid), for filling small faults, cracks and holidays, the skewing are brushed to the faults and firmly pressed in with the cotton wool or cotton glove. Confirm that no portion coated with adhesive size remains uncovered.

Seal with a Wax

Add small quantity of wax to cotton wool and when impregnate the wax cotton wool through, start polishing the gilded areas. The surface can be buffed up with other clean cotton wool.

Wax is used as polish to remove leaf joints, for burnish and seal gilded surface to prevent damage when applying commercial preparations of water or oil-based, next step 6 & 7)

Burnish is used to describe polishing of gold and silver leaf with a tool and cotton wool. After the burnishing, the gilded area has greater brilliance and its tonal value is deeper than that of mat gold or mat silver; in these respects the leaf has become similar in appearance to polished ore. Because of its delicacy, true leaf adapts to every irregularity of the surface. Accordingly, a mirror gleam is achieved by burnishing and if the surface is rough and craggy the burnished increases the plate of reflection, creating more light, better quality and brilliance.

STEP 6: DISTRESS, ANTIQUE & CONTEMPORARY FINISHES

You can finishes or enhance the gilding surface for multitude of special effects. This step is optional and depends on your concept of this finished project. You ca make the leaf look older, real leaf, tone down the shining, fashionable, overpaint it, or add surface decorations.

Antique Finishes

The easiest way to get an antique look is to leave the fault that show the color based primer underneath the leaf; you can intentionally create cracks as you lay the leaf or apply commercial preparations. Also you can dip some steel wool pad into a little methyl alcohol and rub gently over the gilding surface to remove a little of the leaf or dip cotton wool ball into a little solvent, thinner or gasoline and rub gently as you lay (joints) the leaf to create a stripe cracks faults on the surface.

A traditional easy way to antique a surface it is to use “wood stains”. These oil-based stains come in a variety of wood tones and are available at paint or hardware store. Use a rag to apply the stains to your gilding surface, then wiper off the excess.

You can make your colors tones stains, with “universal tinting colorants” for tinting solvent thinned,  oil paints or for tinting acrylic, vinyl paints, which is readily available in paint store. The earth color are: Raw umber, Burnt umber, Raw sienna, Burnt sienna, Yellow ochre, Lampblack, Van Dyke Brown, Titanium White, Phthalo Green, Light green, Red, Phthalo blue. Use a rag to apply the stains to your gilding surface, then wiper off the excess. An also you can use the wood stains to tone down the shining the gold or silver finish

You may want to look in your paint store for commercial preparations for antiquing or other effects. You can fine products that create a copper verdigris finish, for instance. There are also antique glazes or mediums available at craft supply shop. You can find a crackle varnish in paint or craft supply stores which produce the results its name implies; when applied, it creates a crackled surface.

Artist’s oil colors can be used to shade areas of your surface for an antique effect. Use a rag to apply the color where you want it on the gilded surface (in the fault, for instance), then wipe off the excess, you may want to thin the paint with linseed oil before application for more transparent color. You can clean artist’s oil colors with turpentine. Burnt umber or raw sienna oil color work best for an antique finish, but you can use any color desire. Do not use acrylic artist’s paints for this technique; they are opaque and will not give you washed effect that you will get from oil paints. Allow the oil paints to dry thoroughly before applying a sealer coat of varnish.

Certain “mediums” used for antiquing areas discussed here again when they may be used effectively on leaf; in accordance with the manner of coloring, it is possible to gray, yellow, tinting color or blacked silver, and to brown gold. a wide range of effects  that simulate the alteration of time and use is achieved but without the messy and smeared appearance of newly applied antiquing

Another way to distress or antique a gilded surface involves the use rottenstone, or ground limestone, which is readily available in paint or hardware store. Its dusty gray color can immediately make an object look older. For application on leaf, mix the rottenstone with paste wax (natural) to the desired color. Then apply the mixture to the gilding surface with a rag until you achieve the desired result.

Gold finished or Silver finishes

The easiest way to get an gold or silver finished look, without faults on the gilding surface, apply a final based coat of metallic paint or yellow ochre or gray paint (step 2).

Use the wood stains to tone down the shining the gold or silver finish.

STEP 7: SEAL THE GILDING SURFACE

You should seal the gilded surface to prevent that tarnishes if you are using (imitation gold and silver leaf, composition leaf, silver leaf, variegated leaf or copper leaf, metal leaf) and also surfaces on which objects are constantly places and subjects to contact from the body. You do not need to seal real gold leaf, because it will not tarnish. However, if you want extra protection for a real gold surface, you must decide to apply a protective sealer coat.

The best protective coat for a gilding surface is varnish or lacquer, are comes in either oil-based or water-based preparations that you apply with a brush. Both come in matte, satin, and gloss finishes. Water based varnish or lacquer is easier to use, but oil varnish or lacquer provides a more durable finish.

Apply two coats to best protections.

You can also use spray clear and lacquers sealer, found in paint hardware store and art-craft supply. These provide very light protection and are suitable for objects that will get much wear.