OUGD601 COP Practical - Applying the Gold Leaf

Day 4, At this point my enamel was completely dry and would not wipe away with ease this meant I needed to re treat the glass with cleaner ready for the gold leaf to be applied, it is very important that the glass has no dirt on as gold leaf is incredibly delicate you can see all the marks on the glass through it.

Once the glass was clean I applied something which is called 'Size' this is a traditional term for a sign painters adhesive - this special glue is made from a plant and drys very quick, once the size has been mixed and opened you will only have a 24 hour time window to use it - this means once started it must be done quickly!

To apply the Size you must use a brush that will not leave any brush strokes on the glass, the glue type adhesive will the take around 15 mins to dry clear, once 15 mins is up you must use your knuckle and gently test to see if the glue has become tacky - if you use any other part of your hand the gold leaf will create a mark where your hand was. Once tacky you must quickly apply the gold leaf.

To apply the gold leaf you must cover all the areas which are covered in size, it doesnt matter if there are any excess pieces. Because the gold is very delicate it is important you use something called a gilders brush this is a static brush which clings to the gold just enough to apply to the glass - if you are on a budget and wish to save gold using a knife and gilders cushion you can cut to size the area you need to cover.