Series editors' preface - Wood Tools

660 Conservation of Furniture
Figure 14.15 Pressing freshly laid leaf with cotton
wool to remove any air trapped underneath the gold
simply wipe off leaving an ugly speckled
surface. Always ensure that the brush or
cotton wool used for damping down is dry,
otherwise the gold will either lift off or be
spoiled by water marks. Some gilders prefer
to use both hands, laying gold with one hand,
and tamping the gold with the other as they
work. This requires the cushion to be placed
on a work surface rather than held in the
hand.
When applying the gilding water to carved
areas, bear in mind that the gold will pull
towards it and stick to the high points. To
avoid bridging the gold leaf, make sure that
the water is applied only to the areas where
you want the gold leaf to fall. On plain mouldings,
however, it helps if the gilding water is
applied to the area where the next piece of
gold is to be laid at the same time as wetting
for the first piece, so that when this area is
wetted again to take the gold, the glue in the
clay will already be reactivated and better
adhesion will be achieved. If laying leaf onto
an undulating surface, let one end of the gold
on the tip attach itself to the work and angle
the tip so that the speed at which the gold is
taken up by the water is controlled by the tip.
Wetherall (1992) emphasizes the following
points. The presence of excess size water will
prevent the gold from pulling down evenly.
Hold the tip parallel to the surface and avoid
any hesitation in approach because the gold
may ‘jump’ as it nears the moisture. Having
laid the leaf, avoid pulling the tip towards you
as it is lifted away or it may cause the gold
to tear. Only use a tamping brush once the
gold has left the tip, and hold the brush at 90°
to the surface. When gilding sharp angles or
mouldings lay the leaf so that the edge aligns
exactly with the bottom of the carved angle –
this will mean you will need two pieces of
gold, one for each side of the cut.
14.2.15 Faulting
Once the gold has dried, wipe over the
surface with dry cotton wool to remove any
loose pieces of gold leaf. Any faults or breaks
in the gilded surface must be patched with
smaller pieces of gold. It is especially important
to do this on areas that are burnished, as
the coloured clay clearly shows the imperfections
in the gilding. Faulting can be done
while gilding or after burnishing. Use a small
brush to apply the gilding water and ensure
that the patch of gold is large enough so that
the water does not seep from under it and
cause water marks on the previous gilding.
Burnish the faulting when it is dry. Another
way of faulting on burnished work is to
breathe onto the clay to be patched, place a
small piece of gold onto the site and burnish
the piece immediately. It is not usually necessary
to fault into the depths of the carving as
the yellow size underneath will usually hide
faults in the gold.
14.2.16 Matte water gilding
If the surface to be gilded requires a matte
finish, a coat of thin parchment or rabbit skin
size should be applied to the surface before
gilding and allowed to dry. The strength of
this size should be no more than 16:1 v/v
water:glue granules. If the size is too strong
the gold being laid will dry with spiders webs
and overlaps, which will ruin the appearance
of a matte surface. If the size coat is too weak
or too wet the gilding water will break
through it and the gilding will have to be set
aside, allowed to dry and the size layer
replaced before gilding of the area can recommence.
A matte effect may also be achieved by
applying a size after gilding has been
completed. Brush strokes used to apply the
size should be directed in the opposite direction
in which the gold was laid so that the
brush does not lift the edges of the gold.