Depending on the desired result and application, we can use different methods of gilding with gold leaf, white gold or silver leaf. Our website www.yourgoldenwall.com contains an overview of various projects realised over the past years...

Water gilding

Water gilding can only be used indoors and not in damp rooms. In this method, the gold and silver are fixed in a bole. This is a bole with (rabbit-)skin glue that is moistened afterwards, allowing the leaf to stick to the bole. This allows the leaves to be beautifully polished with an agate stone. Whether it concerns mirrors, frames, woodcarvings or ornaments, we know better than anyone how to find a perfect balance between the substrate, the material used and the degree to which polishing and patinating is required.

Oil gilding

Mixtion or oil gilding is possible for both indoor and outdoor use. Here the gold is fixed in a mixtion. This is a kind of glue layer that is applied to the piece to be gilded. This can be almost any surface (stone, wood, iron, glass ...). The gilding cannot be polished with an agate stone because the glue layer does not harden sufficiently, requiring the piece to be rubbed. Consequently, only one degree of gloss is obtained.

Metal leaf

An alternative to gilding is the finishing with metal leaf. This is for pieces with mostly decorative value, or where a darker patina is required. In this case, always after consultation of course, we do not work with gold leaves but with copper (or aluminium) leaves, in imitation of gold (or silver). This must be fixed to prevent oxidation. The metal leaf technique can achieve very nice results that are often indistinguishable from gold or silver. Furthermore, this can also reduce material costs and working hours.