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Wood, leather, paper, and similar sub- 
stances, are gilt by fastening on leaves of 
gold by means of some cement. But metals 
are gilt by a chemical application of the gold 
to the surface. This last is called vvater- 
g'lding- 
The gilding of wood, and similar sub- 
stances, is of three kinds : oil-gilding, bur- 
nished gilding, and japanners’ gilding, which 
we shall severally describe, after noticing the 
materials and tools necessary for the opera- 
tions. 
Of gold-leaf — There are three kinds of 
gold-leaf in common use. Pure gold-leaf, 
which is made by hammering gold till it is 
sulliciently thin (see Gold-beating). Pale 
leaf-gold, which has a greenish colour, and is 
made in the same way of gold alloyed with 
silver. Dutch gold, which is brought from 
Holland, and is in fact only copper-leaf co- 
loured by the fumes of zinc. Jt is much 
cheaper than true leaf-gold, and is very use- 
ful where large quantities of gilding are want- 
ed, which can be defended from the weather, 
and where great nicety is not required ; but 
it changes its colour entirely when exposed 
to moisture ; and indeed, in all cases, its 
beauty is soon impaired, unless well secured 
by varnish. It is therefore only a cheap 
substitute for true gold-Jeaf, which may be 
useful where durability is not an object. 
Of the. instruments necessary for gilding. 
• — The first instrument is the cushion, for re- 
ceiving the leaves of gold from the books in 
which they are bought. It is made by co- 
vering a board of about eight inches square, 
with a double thickness of llannel : and over 
that a piece of buff leather, and fastening it 
tight round the edges. 
The knife for cutting the leaves into the 
requisite sizes should be made like a pallet- 
knife, and should not have its edge too 
sharp. 
The tip is a tool made by fastening the 
long hairs of a squirrel’s tail between two 
cards ; and is used for taking up the gold-leaf 
; after it is cut, and applying it to the article to 
be gilded. 
A fitch pencil is used for the same purpose 
as the last, in taking up very small hits of 
gold-leaf. A ball of cotton is necessary for 
pressing down the leaf, after it is laid on. A 
large camel’s-hair brush is used for dusting 
the work, and clearing away the superfluous 
gold. 
Oil-gilding. — First prime your work with 
boiled linseed-oil and white-lead ; and when 
that is dry, cover it over with a thin coat of 
gold size, made of stone-ochre ground in fat 
oil. When that is so dry as to feel clammy 
to the fingers, or to be what the gilders call 
tacky, it is fit for gilding. Having spread 
your leaves upon the cushion, cut them into 
slips of the proper width for covering your 
work. Then breathe upon your tip, which, 
by moistening it, will cause It to take up the 
leaves from the cushion. Having applied 
them by the tip on the proper parts of your 
work, press them down by the ball of cotton. 
Observe to repair, by putting small pieces of 
gold on, any parts which you have omitted to 
cover. When all your work is sufficiently 
covered, let it dry, and clean it off with the 
brush. 
This sort of gilding is the easiest, least ex- 
pensive, and stands the weather best, and 
may be cleaned with a little water at any 
GILDING. 
time; but wants the lustre of burnished gild- 
ing. 
Burnished gilding. — This is the sort of 
gilding generally used for picture-frames, 
looking-glasses, &c. 
The wood intended to be gilt in this man- 
ner, should first be well sized, and then 
covered with seven or eight coats of size 
and whiting, so as to form a body of con- 
siderable thickness. Having got a sufficient 
quantity of whiting upon the work, it must 
be carefully cleaned, taking care to free all 
the cavities and hollows from the whiting that 
may have choked them up, and by proper 
moulds and tools restoring the sharpness of 
(he mouldings intended to be shewn. 
It is then to receive a coat of size, which 
is made by boiling armenian bole with parch- 
ment size. This must also remain till it is 
sufficiently dry for gold. It must not be 
quite dry, therefore it would not be prudent 
to lay on more at a time than can be gilt be- 
fore it becomes too dry. 
The work being thus prepared, place it a 
little declining from you ; and having ready a 
cup of clean water, and some hair-pencils, 
moisten a part of the work, and then apply 
the gold by the tip to the moistened part. 
The gold will immediately adhere close to the 
work : proceed to wet the next part, and 
apply the gold as before, repeating this ope- 
ration till the whole is completed ; taking 
care not to let any drops of water come upon 
any part of the gold already laid on. Care 
should therefore be taken that no part be 
missed in going over it at first, as it is not so 
easily mended as the oil-gilding. 
The work being thus gilt, it is suffered to 
remain about 24 hours ; when the parts that 
are designed to be burnished, are polished 
with a dog’s tooth, or, what L better, with an 
agate burnisher. The gilding must not be 
quite dry when burnished; there is a state 
proper for the purpose, which is only to be 
known by experience. 
Japanners ’ gilding. — The gilding of ja- 
panned work consists in drawing with a hair- 
pencil, in gold size, the intended ornaments, 
and afterwards applying gold-leaf, or gold 
powder. 
The gold size may be prepared in the fol- 
lowing maimer: Take of linseed oil, and of 
gum animi, four ounces. Set the oil to boil 
in a proper vessel, and then add the gum 
animi gradually in powder, stirring each 
quantity about in the oil till it appears to be 
dissolved, and then putting in another, till 
the whole is mixed with the oil. Let the 
mixture continue to boil, till, on taking a 
small quantity out, it appears of a thicker 
consistence than tar, and then strain the 
whole through a coarse doth, and keep it for 
use ; but it must, when applied, be mixed 
with vermilion and oil of turpentine. 
Having laid on the gold size, and suffered 
it to dry, the gold-leaf is applied in the usual 
way ; or if it is not wanted to shine so much, 
gold powder is applied, which is made by 
grinding gold-leaf upon a stone with honey, 
and afterwards washing the honey away with 
water. If the gilding is to be varnished over, 
Dutch gold may be used, or aurum musivum 
may be used instead of real gold powder. 
To ivritc on paper with letters of gold . — 
Put some gum arabic into common writing- 
ink, and write with it in the usual way. 
When the writing is dry, breathe on it; the 
warmth and moisture soften the gum, and 
will cause it to fasten on the gold-leaf ; which 
may be laid on in the usual way, and the su- 
perfluous part brushed off. Or instead of 
this, any japanners’ size may be used. 
To lay gold upon volute earthenware, or 
glass. — Procure some japanners’ gold size, 
and with it draw your design upon the vessel 
to be gilt, moistening the gold size, as you 
find necessary, with oil ot turpentine. Set 
your work in a clean place to dry, for about 
an hour, and then place it so near the lire, 
that you could but just bear the heat of it 
with your hand for a few seconds. Let it re- 
main there till it feels quite tacky or clammy ; 
then, having procured a cushion, and some 
leaf-gold, cut it into slips of the proper size, 
and lay it on with the little cotton ball. 
When the gold is all on. put the ware into an 
oven to be baked for two or three hours. 
Glasses, &c. may also be gilt, by drawing 
the figures with shell gold mixed with gum 
arabic, and a little borax. Then apply suf- 
ficient heat to it ; and, lastly, burnish it. 
Gilding on glass or porcelain, by burning 
in. — Dissolve gold in aqua regia, and evapo- 
rate the acid by heat, you will obtain a gold 
powder ; or precipitate the gold from the 
solution by pieces of copper. Lay this gold 
on with a strong solution of borax and gum 
water, and it will be ready for burning-in. 
Gilding metals. — One method of applying 
gold upon metals is by first cleaning the 'me- 
tal to be gilt ; then gold-leaf is laid on it, 
which, by means of rubbing with a polished 
blood-stone, and a certain degree of heat, are 
made lo adhere perfectly well. In this man- 
ner silver-leaf is fixed and burnished upon 
brass, in the making of what is called French 
plate; and sometimes also gold-leaf is bur- 
nished upon copper and iron. 
Gilding by amalgamation. A better me- 
thod is, by previously forming the gold into 
paste, or amalgam, with mercury. 
In order to obtain an amalgam of gold and 
mercury, the gold is first to be reduced into 
thin plates or grains, which are heated red- 
hot, and thrown into mercury previously J 
heated, till it begins to smoke. Upon stir- 
ring the mercury with an iron rod, the gold 
totally disappears. The proportion of mer- i 
cury to gold is generally as six or eight to 1 
one. 
« The method of gilding by amalgamation 
is chiefly used for gilding copper, or an alloy 
of copper, with a small portion of zinc, 
which more readily receives the amalgam, 
and is also preferable on account of its co- 
lour, which more resembles that of gold than 
the colour of copper. 
When the metal to be gilt is wrought or 
chased, it ought to be previously covered 
with quicksilver before the amalgam is ap- 
plied, that this may be easier spread ; but 
when the surface of the metal is plane, the 
amalgam may be directly applied to it. 
The metal required to be gilt is first rub- 
bed over with a little aquafortis, by which the 
surfaces cleaned from any rust or tarnish that 
might prevent the union of the two metals, 
i The amalgam being then equally spread over 
1 the surface bv means of a brush, the mercury 
is evaporated b>y a heat just sufficient for 
that purpose ; for if it is too great, part of 
the gold may also be expelled, and part of it 
will run together, and leave some oi the sur- 
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