about gilded metal leaf finishes...
Gilding adds drama to special features areas and dramatically enhances the uplifting effect of lighting and chandeliers for domed, recessed or vaulted ceilings.
The term gilding is used to describe the process of applying thin sheets of metal leaf to surfaces such as walls, ceilings, wood, glass, stone or metal. Precious metals like 24 carat deep gold, white gold, palladium and silver are made into very thin sheets, 3-3/8" square. The semi- precious metals, like brass, aluminum and copper are very thin sheets of metal, 5-1/2" square and are often called 'composition metals'. Real silver leaf and composition gold and copper leaf can be tarnished to create interesting colors and effects. There are many different surfaces and applications for gilded techniques that range from fine details for crown mouldings, ceiling medallions, to dramatic vaulted and recessed ceiling or for creating beautiful gilded artwork on glass, known as 'verre eglomise'.
There are two primary application methods...
1) water gilding which generally uses a rabbit skin glue size and 2) oil gilding, which is a method that uses a slow drying oil varnish that is allied to tack up before applying the leaf to the surface.
The samples on the following 'gilding' pages are all oil gilding techniques…
Notan gilding, a Japanese term for a random broken pattern of gilding that allows the base color paint to show through the fractures in the leaf and affects the overall coloring of the finish.
Quilt gilding, where the leaf is placed side by side in tidy squares that look like a subtle 'quilted' pattern.
Open quilt gilding, in which the tidy quilt pattern is allowed to have open spaces and cracks between the leaves, allowing the base color to become part of the final finish. All of these finishes have top coat varnishes that can be tinted to shift the natural color of the leaf toward warmer or cooler tones. This allows the finishes to be custom tinted to suit the specific color palette of the project.
The term gilding is used to describe the process of applying thin sheets of metal leaf to surfaces such as walls, ceilings, wood, glass, stone or metal. Precious metals like 24 carat deep gold, white gold, palladium and silver are made into very thin sheets, 3-3/8" square. The semi- precious metals, like brass, aluminum and copper are very thin sheets of metal, 5-1/2" square and are often called 'composition metals'. Real silver leaf and composition gold and copper leaf can be tarnished to create interesting colors and effects. There are many different surfaces and applications for gilded techniques that range from fine details for crown mouldings, ceiling medallions, to dramatic vaulted and recessed ceiling or for creating beautiful gilded artwork on glass, known as 'verre eglomise'.
There are two primary application methods...
1) water gilding which generally uses a rabbit skin glue size and 2) oil gilding, which is a method that uses a slow drying oil varnish that is allied to tack up before applying the leaf to the surface.
The samples on the following 'gilding' pages are all oil gilding techniques…
Notan gilding, a Japanese term for a random broken pattern of gilding that allows the base color paint to show through the fractures in the leaf and affects the overall coloring of the finish.
Quilt gilding, where the leaf is placed side by side in tidy squares that look like a subtle 'quilted' pattern.
Open quilt gilding, in which the tidy quilt pattern is allowed to have open spaces and cracks between the leaves, allowing the base color to become part of the final finish. All of these finishes have top coat varnishes that can be tinted to shift the natural color of the leaf toward warmer or cooler tones. This allows the finishes to be custom tinted to suit the specific color palette of the project.