A gilded sign for Old Stein Inn, carved and finished with 23 karat gold leaf trim made by Designs & Signs. We design and carve many beautiful sandblasted signs. We finish most of our carved signs with gold leaf. Please take a moment to review our site. We have posted many great photos of our gilded signs, glass gilding, and other interesting gold leaf-related projects. If you are interested in gold leaf or carved signs for your business or home, please contact us for more information.
Priming and preparing the surfaces for gilding
After lightly sanding and applying a primer, you may decide to gild the desired surface. To ensure the gold or metal leaf adheres properly to the surface to be gilded, it must be non-porous or otherwise. The “size” used in gilding will soak into the substrate. When cleaning metal surfaces, make sure they are free of grease and dirt.
Gold or silver leaf will have an undertone of the color of the paint or clay used to prime the surface. This determines the overall appearance of the finished product. For example, we can tone down gold further by adding a red or blue tone below it, giving it a warmer tone. Silver can also be toned down by adding a grey or blue tone beneath it.
Measure and apply the adhesive
To glue the leaf to the surface, we use “size” adhesive. Primarily, oil-based or water-based sizes are available. However, It’s not recommended to use water-based size outdoors. Likewise, Different drying times are available from 1 hour to 24 hours for oil-based sizes, plus diverse “opening” times.
Put The Leaf to use
First, use a sheet from the booklet to transfer gold. Then, Place the sheet face down on the sized area and rub gently over the backing paper for the gold to melt onto the surface. After that, you should Continue your gilding process, overlapping the edge of the leaves.
You may use loose-leaf, in which case you will need to use a gilder’s tip or another soft brush to gently lift the leaf from the booklet and pat it with a gilder’s mop into the delicate areas of the molding.
