Gold remains a very precious material that marks wealth. The gold effect is very popular to decorate or renovate a room. The use of gold leaf gilding allows you to guarantee your decoration and follow the current trend. But how to successfully apply the gold leaf on your support?
Why choose gold leaf for gilding?
To decorate and obtain a golden effect, many techniques can be used. You can opt for a film or a gold leaf. You can use other techniques to obtain various reflections and more material. For example, you can replace the gold leaf with flakes. Some people choose gold powder to transform smaller designs. But gold-leaf gilding is still the most practical and aesthetic method. It can be applied to concrete jewelry or creative concrete. Indeed, concrete has a noble look and a lot of finesse. Gold leaf adds a really nice contrast to this material. To successfully apply gold leaf, you must master the technique and provide yourself with special equipment (gilding paste, brush, sander, sandpaper).
Gold leaf gilding technique
The choice and the preparation of the support remain the essential point to be well studied to optimize the application of the gilding. The support must be as impermeable as possible to achieve a better application. You can use paper, wood, fabric, glass, stone, clay, etc. Once you have chosen the substrate, you can proceed with the preparation. Start by sanding the surface to make it smooth. Then apply gilding plate, a mixture of glue and red ochre. This will help the gold leaf shine and adhere to your surface.
How to successfully apply gold leaf?
There are two types of gold leaf (loose leaf and adherent leaf). In order to succeed in gilding with gold leaf, it is essential to follow various steps rigorously. You must extract the gold leaf with a brush. Then apply this leaf on the surface glued to the support. Move to the second sheet and repeat this operation until the support is completely covered with gold leaf and then allow it to dry. So, gold leaf gilding consists in putting a thin layer of pure gold on a support of your choice. And the technique is always the same.