Bole - gold combo

[vintage frames]

Yes, if you add a little blue bole to Paynes grey, you get a deeper colour that looks good under burnishes. This however is at the expense of a more dry dusty look which as you said, looks better under matt finishes. I agree with you that many of the red tones of bole can look too aggressive when rubbed through and have found the Charbonnel Red the best for this sort of tone. For those who might be interested, Richard Christie has created a magnificent resource of frame images from Tate Britain and The Nat.Gallery

https://www.instagram.com/antique_frames/

These show how beautiful frames become with age.

[prospero]

When I'm doing powder gilding I use red oxide acrylic as my go-to red bole colour. This makes the classic look
but can be a bit too red as VF observes. In some frames I apply a thin wash of black over the red and stipple it to
make a darker, slightly patchy red. When rubbed back it creates a more restrained but interesting look.
For 'proper' gilding you could maybe do the same with black bole or simply mix a bit of black into the red.