The Framers Forum

Is it very difficult to gild a simple picture frame? It looks fairly straightforward on Youtube, but I can imagine the gold leaf crumpling and not lying flat (and other unforeseen problems). Is it worth the effort? Or should I just pay someone to do it?

My aim would be to produce a 'seamless' golden frame in gold leaf.

Who offers the best starter kit. I've seen various on offer for various prices. I'd like to spend as little as possible until I'm sure it's worth pursuing.

Btw. I'm not interested in the cheaper 'ready made' gilded mouldings.

Thanks

It's mostly sandpapering and a lot of patience and practice.

The main thing is to get an immaculate ground using multiple layers of Gesso. Once you have that the laying of the leaf
is just a knack. But if the ground is a bit iffy then every imperfection will shout out when you come to burnish the gold.

I don't do it these days. The only customer who does use real gold leaf has plain frames and gets his wife to do it.
She actually makes a very good job of it and I am quite content to let her do it.

Like glass cutting or cutting a mount, gilding is easy and straightforward. It just needs practice and experience. Over 90% of the chargeable cost of gilding is in the time and skill involved.
To do any sort of gilding with gold leaf, you need to purchase the basic gilding kit. This is a one off purchase of about £100.
The raw materials you would need can be bought for around £40, excluding the gold.
A book of gold leaf costs about £20. The average frame uses either 1 or 2 books.
To learn to gild, there are lots of books to read and some Youtube videos to watch. But if you want to know how to gild by a practising framer, then look at my website.
Not only do I teach the basic mechanics of gilding but I also share the many tips and tricks that you can use to create a beautiful finish on the gilding.
And you won't find any of those in a book or Youtube video.

If you know anything about music, you know this quote: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

It might look easy but there is a lot of practice to make it look (or sound) good. There is another factor in that a trained person will know how to recover from their mistakes.

There is nothing wrong with learning a new skill. Go ahead. However, for a paying customer, they want a job done by someone who knows what they are doing.

From whay I hear good gilders are rarely short of work. Why sub it out to someone else? Ideally go on a training course with someone who knows what they are doing and has a first class reputation.

JFeig wrote: ↑Tue 03 Nov, 2020 1:37 pm If you know anything about music, you know this quote: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

It might look easy but there is a lot of practice to make it look (or sound) good. There is another factor in that a trained person will know how to recover from their mistakes.

There is nothing wrong with learning a new skill. Go ahead. However, for a paying customer, they want a job done by someone who knows what they are doing.

Could there be an etymological connection to guild, sort of like a guild of master craftsmen... Used to bump into a guilder from JJ's every so often, when having a pint after work. The most calm person I've ever met, and someone who could relate to the personalities of all the elements in the frame construction, production processes.

Anybody have a preference for loose gold leaf or transfer?

Transfer leaf is the easy option. The gold leaf comes on a little square of release paper and all you have to do is press it onto the tacky gold-size, rub a bit with your finger and ta-da, you have gilded the surface.
Now you can step back and think how wonderful it all is.
But -
That nice new sparkly gilding is going to need some sort of varnish protection and when you do that, all the beautiful lustre is lost. So what you'll be left with is a 'gilt' finish.
Using loose leaf however requires you to have all the gilding kit, gilder's cushion, knife, tip and tamping brushes. Now however the gilding is much brighter and as long as it's laid on a long drying oil size, will withstand much more manipulation and varnishing.

And all that you will have found in Part 5 of my Online Gilding Course.

If you are doing 'proper' gilding then loose leaves.

Using imitation gold leaf is similar but there is a world of difference.