GILDING. 



heat applied. The manner of ufing tlie precipitate powders 

 of gold, the aiirum fiilm'iniins excepted, as well as ttie leaf 

 gold, may be varied, by adding to it or omitting- any flux ; 

 but in what way foever the powder is iifed, it is to be tem- 

 pered with the oil of fpike, and wcrkcd as the enamel 

 colours; and the quan ity of flux, when any is ufed, may 

 he a third of the weight of the gold. In cafes where the 

 glafs is very hard, or where the opportunity of a ftrong heat 

 cannot be conveniently obtained, the expedient of ining a 

 flux in the following manner may be adopted with great 

 advantage. Grind gl sfi of borax to a ihie powder; and 

 having tempered it with oil of fpike, lay it on the f^-lafs 

 where the gliding is to be made; then burn the glafs with a 

 degree of heat, that will caufe the borax to run ; ar.d when 

 it is cold, apply the precipitate or leaf gold, and burn it 

 again, as in other cafes. After the work is burnt, if it be 

 intended to be barnifhed, a proper luftre may be given to 

 it, by rubbing the gilded part v>ith a dog's tooth, or with 

 a fine agate, or iron burnifiiers. Handmaid to t!;c Arts, 

 vol. i p. 374, &c. See Ruby Glass. 



Gold m-ay be laid upon white earthen-ware or glafs, bv 

 drawing yourdefign, upon the veffel to begilt, with japanners' 

 gold fize, moillening the fize, as you find nccelTary, with 

 oil of turpentine. Set the work in a clean place to dry for 

 about an hour, and then pi_ce it fo near the Ihe that you 

 could but juil bear the heat of it with your hand for a few 

 feconds. Let it remain there till it feels quite tacky or 

 clammy: then, having procured a cufliion and fome leaf-gold, 

 cut it into flips of the proper fize, and lay it on with a 

 little cotton-wool. When tlie gold is all on, put the v.ork 

 Lito an oven to be baked for two or three hours. 



Drinking glaffes, with gilt edges, have been much ad- 

 mired in this countrj' ; the belt of thefe are brought from 

 Germany: thofe that are made in England, though equal 

 in beauty to the foreign, being greatly inferior in the dura- 

 bility of the gildingr. Dr. Lewis made feveral experiments 

 with a view of difcovering this art ; from which he con- 

 cludes, that the gold is cemented to them by means of an in- 

 tervening matter, which will adhere to glafs fo as not eafily 

 to be rubbed off. He tried maftich, and other reiinous 

 bodies rubbed warm on the glafs, and feveral fpirituous var- 

 nifhes : but none of thefe were found to adhere fulTicientlv to 

 the glafs. He recommends to the trial of the artifts in this 

 Vv'ay the harder oil varnifhes: and glaffes have been Since pre- 

 pared in England, probably on the principles which he has 

 pointed out, with as durable gilding as thofe brought from 

 Bohemia and Thuringia. 



M Zeigler, in a German tranflation of the " Commercium 

 Philofophico-Technicum,'' defcribcs a varnilh for this pur- 

 pofe, with the method of ufi-.ig it, which appeared from his 

 experiments to be the bcft. This varnifli is prepared by 

 boihng fine tranfparent amber, reduced to powder, in a 

 brafs veiTel, to the cover of which a valve is fitted, with as 

 much drying oil as will juft cover" it; and by diluting the 

 above folution with four or five times its quantity of oil of 

 turpentine. This varnifh may be made to dry fooner, and 

 acquii-es greater firmnefs by grinding it wlt'i a little wliite 

 lead, or rather v.ith a mixture of white lead and minium. 

 It is to be applied very thin on the glafs, and the gold leaf 

 laid hghtly on the varnifhed part ; when the varnifh is tho- 

 roughly hardened, the gold may be burnifhed, by laying a 

 piece of fmoolh paper between the tooth or Ikcl buruifher, 

 and the gold. This gilding, M. Zeigler obferves, is dura- 

 ble, and of a fine luflre. Com. Phil. Techn. p. 65, and 

 614. 



GiLDJNG off^ures and lett.rs on paper, and for the embcl- 

 Jifhment of matjufcripts, is perfornr^d with fliell-gold, tem- 



pered with gtim-watcr; or the cTiaraflers may be drawp 

 with a milky folution of gnm-ammoniacum made in water, 

 and gold-leaf app'i, d upon them wh.en alinoft drv, or if all 

 or any part of them is become quite dry, they may be again 

 fufliciently moiflcncd for receiving the gold by breathin'" on 

 them. L'tters 1 ailed from the fuface of paper or parch- 

 ment, in the manner of embofFed work, inch as are feen on 

 ancient manufcripts, may be formed either by friction on a 

 proper body with a folid piece of gold, or by leaf gold. 

 The former method is pradifed by tempering pulverized 

 cryilal with flrong gum-water, and with this pallc forming 

 the letters ; when they are dry, they are rubbed with a piece 

 of folid gold, as in polifliing, and the letters will appear as 

 it gilt w;;h burnifiied geld. The letters are form.cd with ao 

 embofTed figure, cither of the feparate letters, or of whole 

 words, cut in flecl; and eacli letter of thefe flanips, when 

 they are ufed, is anointed evenly with a feather dipped in 

 oil. Then fi'l thefe concave letters with the above paile, and 

 flrike the Hamps in a pcrpendicidar dlreftion on the paper or 

 vellum, laid over fome flieets of paper. 



When the einbolTcd letters are formed with leaf gold, the 

 following, or a fin-.ilar compolition mull be ufed. Thicken 

 beaten whites of eggs with as much vermilion as is neceffary 

 to give them the confillence ofpafte; ufe the flamps as be- 

 fore; and when the letters are dry, moiilen them by a fmall 

 pencil with flrong gum-water: and v.'hcn this is almoll dr^', 

 cover the letters with leaf gold, preffing it clofe to every 

 part of them with cotton or foft leather; after the gilding is 

 dry, polilh it with proper burnifhers. Com. Phil. Techn. 

 p. 64 and Handmaid to the Arts, p 450, &c. 



Gilding of Iroe-fJIo, as craw-fiih, carps, &c. may be per- 

 formed without injuring the fidi, by means of a ccirent; 

 wliich Mr Hooke, in his pollhumojs papers, dire£ts to be 

 prepared in the following manner : Put fome Burgundy pitch 

 into a new earthen pot, and warm the veffel till it receives 

 fo much of tlie pitch as will flick round it; then llrew fon-e 

 finely powdered amber over the pitch when growing cold ; 

 add a mixture of three pounds of linfced oil, and one of oil 

 of turpentine: cover the veffel, and bvjil the contained in- 

 gredients over a gentle fire; grind the mixture as it is want- 

 ed, with fo much pumice-flone in fine powder as will reduce 

 it to the confillence of paint. When the filh has been wiped 

 dry, this mixture is fpread upon it, and the gold leaf laid 

 over it, and gently preffed down ; after which, the filh may- 

 be immediately put into water, and the cement will harden, 

 and be in no danger of falhng off. 



GiiDixG on hatha: See Lacqvkrtxg. 

 Gilding ef nuials may be done by cleaning the furface 

 of the metal, and apjilying gold leaves to it, which, by 

 means of rubbing with a polilhed blood-llone, and a certain 

 degree of heat, are made to adhere perfectly v.-eil. In this 

 manner filver leaf is fixed and burnifhed upon brafs, in mak- 

 ing French plate ; and fometimes alfo gold leaf is Ijurnilhed 

 upon copper and upon iron. For this purpofe, the metal, 

 being previoufiv polilhed and quite clean, is heattd to about 

 the temperature cf melted lead, and covered with a double 

 layer of gold leaf; then a blood-flone burnifhor, apphed 

 gently at iiril, and gradually increafing the pnffure, «-iIl 

 caufe the furfaces of gold and copper to touch each otlier in 

 almofl every point, and then adhere with a force provortion- 

 ed to the completenefs of the contact. The firil layer being 

 thus bornilhed, a fecondis made to adhere in the fame man- 

 ner, and fometimes a third, if the gilding is intended to be 

 very folid. This method of gilding is tedious, and is fubjecl 

 to the alniofl impollibility of ufing a fuffieicnt prcffure with- 

 out injuring the cvennefs of tlic gilded furface. In tafei 

 where thefe objedions do not apply, there cannot be 3 more 

 J ' riled ual 



