We will now proceed in earnest to the serious work of gilding a picture
frame.
1.—Commence by weighing out one ounce and a half of glue or gelatine.
Put this into a cup and pour over it eight ounces of water by
measurement. This of course you will do with the aid of your graduated
glass measure. Let the glue soak for several hours, and then set the cup
in a pan of water and expose it to heat until the glue becomes perfectly
fluid and completely melted. A teaspoonful of carbolic acid must now be
stirred into it and thoroughly incorporated with it. The acid will
preserve it, as already stated, from decomposition, and most effectually
so and for any length of time. This glue should be strained before being
used. Whenever a portion of it will be required for the preparations
herein described, it is well to take out as much only as may be wanted
for use, leaving the balance untouched; as by so doing its purity can be
relied upon, and besides, the oftener glue is melted the weaker it
becomes.
2.—Lay down the frame which is to be gilded, back up, and, with a
pencil, mark a line across the sections, if there be any, so as to be
enabled to return them to their correct positions when ready to do so.
Next, draw out the nails which fasten the sections together, and then
take them apart. Now turn the sections face up and proceed to fill up
any nail-holes about the corners, where the sides have been joined
together, as well as all imperfections which may be found to exist.
There are often fractures and indentations to be found, and these must
be carefully repaired and the frame, or its several parts, made as
perfect as can be. The joining at the corner must be filled up and made
to appear solid.
3.—The preparation with which all this is to be done is made as follows:
Mix some of the Paris white with just sufficient water to moisten it
thoroughly, and then add enough of the glue which has been described,
and which has been melted for the purpose, to make the mixture into a
thick paste. The Paris white might be mixed at once with the glue, but
it does not seem to combine so well as when it has been previously
moistened with water. It will be too lumpy and full of undissolved
particles, unless mixed with the fingers; which operation would be
generally objectionable. The paste should be just thick enough not to
run.
4.—Now proceed to fill up the nail-holes, corner joints and all other
visible imperfections with this mixture; either by applying it with a
small bristle brush and laying on a sufficient quantity, until the
required places are fully stopped up, and, when perfectly dry,
sand-papering them down smooth and uniform, or by applying it like
putty, with the fingers. The latter method is not recommended, as it
requires a peculiar facility in the management, which can only be
acquired by considerable practice, and besides, it does not give as good
results.
5.—After smoothing down the fillings-up, the flats and hollows of the
frame should be gone over first with number 0 sand-paper, and afterwards
with a moistened rag, and be rubbed perfectly smooth and even and until
the surface appears polished.
6.—The frame will now be ready for the white coat, which must be
prepared in the following manner and then applied to the composition
parts only:
Soak some of the pipe clay in water, barely enough of the latter to
moisten the clay thoroughly, and then add enough of the glue, already
prepared and in so hot a state as to render it of the consistency of
thin cream; and add also a teaspoonful of the ox-gall, to prevent
pin-holes forming and to keep it from frothing. A little practice will
be required to determine invariably the requisite consistency, but the
above directions will give a satisfactory result. The object of these
two preliminary white coats is to kill any grease which may still adhere
to the moulding, and which would otherwise prevent the proper drying of
the oil-size. They also serve to give a soft and smooth appearance to
these parts. The mixture as described must be applied warm, with a
bristle brush (number 4 will do for the purpose), to all the composition
parts of the frame. Apply this mixture sparingly, but sufficiently to
cover the parts completely, and be careful to avoid bubbles while
applying it. When the first coat is perfectly dry, apply the second.
7.—When the last white coat is perfectly dry, two coats of clear size
should be applied all over these portions which are to receive a coat of
oil-size. Even where a portion of the composition is to be burnished,
(which process is done in water,) it is better to go all over these
parts with the clear size; but the hollows and flats which should be
burnished must not be touched, if it be possible to avoid doing so.
8.—The clear size is prepared as follows: Take one part of the melted
glue, as already prepared, and mix it with two parts of water, adding a
little of the ox-gall for the purpose already mentioned, and apply this
mixture hot, when required, using a bristle brush for the purpose.
9.—The next step will be to prepare, for the purpose, those portions of
the frame which require to be burnished. They must be coated with from
three to four coats of burnish-size. Those portions of the composition
work which are to be burnished should have one or two preliminary coats
of Paris white, applied rather thicker than the white coats of pipe
clay; and these coats of Paris white are prepared in the same manner as
are those of pipe clay. These coats, of course, must only be applied
after the portions of the moulding which are to be burnished have been
filled up and smoothed down. The filling up is done with thick whiting,
and the smoothing down is to be done with a wet rag.
10.—Many gilders use, as a primary coating for the burnish-size, a
preparation which is called _yellow clay_. This yellow clay is supplied
by dealers, and is to be mixed in just the same way that the
burnish-size is. It gives a more elastic bed for the burnishing process;
but the same result may be had by giving an extra coat or two of the
burnish-size. I do not recommend its use, particularly for beginners. It
only serves to complicate a process that is already complicated enough.
11.—The burnish-size, as it is supplied by the dealers, is not in a
condition to be at once used, but must be prepared for that purpose in
the following manner:
Take some of the crude burnish-size and mix it in a cup with water, add
but little water at a time, and mix thoroughly, until the mixture barely
drips from the spoon with which it is being mixed. Now add a teaspoonful
or two of the hot glue already prepared. On stirring this up, the mass
becomes very thick. Continue to add cautiously more glue until the whole
begins to thin down, which it will do almost immediately. Perfect
success in the burnish work depends almost entirely upon the proper
mixing of the burnish-size. The various stages of the process must be
invariably observed, just as they have been here described. If the
operator exercises ordinary care only, he will rarely make a failure;
though sometimes failure will occur, in spite of all precaution.
This lot of burnish-size may be treated also as a stock to be used from
as required. Owing to the carbolic acid which has been mixed with the
glue, it will keep from decomposition an indefinite length of time.
Without that antiseptic quality imparted to it, it would spoil in a few
days.
As now mixed, it will be found rather hard for the final coat or two,
and it must be thinned down with thinner glue, or simply with water, for
these coats; but for the first two coats it will be about right, and it
must be made thin enough to lay smoothly and evenly on the flats and
hollows without clogging the brush. When applied to the ornamental
parts, it may be applied thicker. This burnish-size must be strained
through the strainer. These strainers are procured from the dealers in
gilding materials. Of course, the size will not run through the
strainer, but it must be worked through by means of a bristle brush. It
may as well be said here that all preparations should be strained, so as
to avoid any particles of sediment which may be in the materials.
12.—Two or three coats of this prepared burnish-size must now be applied
to those parts which are to be burnished, using a round camel’s hair
brush for the purpose. These coats must be laid on very smoothly and
uniformly. The first coat will go on rather crudely, owing to the
absorption of the size by the under surface; but the succeeding coats go
on more freely. The size should be applied warm, not hot, and the brush
used for the purpose should be stirred up frequently, so as to separate
the hairs and allow it to work freely. The surplus quantity must be
removed from the brush by drawing it across the sides of the cup. The
two final coats should be applied in the same manner, but the size used
must not be so strong with glue.
When the final coat is dry, it will then be ready for the application of
the gold leaf.
13.—The burnishing of a frame is generally done before the oil gilding.
The application of the gold leaf is made in the following manner:
With the graduated glass measure, mix one part of alcohol with three
parts of water. This solution, which is called _gin-water_, is the
medium by which the gold leaf is applied and affixed to those parts
which have been coated with the burnish-size. Lay the frame in a
convenient position to work upon it, and have the gilding cushion, the
knife, the tips and the gold leaf conveniently placed for use. The
customary way of proceeding is to blow from the book on to the cushion
as many leaves as it may be convenient to use. Some expertness is
required to perform this operation successfully, and I believe that the
time required to obtain this expertness is employed to better advantage
in removing from the book, with the aid of the knife, a leaf at a time,
when it is required to cut one into a number of pieces; or to cut the
leaf as it lays in the book, either with the thumb-nail or with the
knife. Of course, this will be a matter of choice with the gilder, as to
how he will proceed; and he will be altogether governed by the greater
facility with which he can work with either method. When the leaf has
been cut into the required size for use, lift, by means of the tip,
first drawn across the hair of the head, a piece of the gold leaf, and,
after wetting thoroughly with the gin-water the portion where it is to
be laid, using a camel’s hair brush for the purpose, apply the gold
quickly.
There seems to be in the gold an occult attraction towards the
gin-water; for the leaf is at once drawn to it, and care must be
exercised to have the leaf applied at once as nearly right as possible,
for where it goes, there it must remain. It must not be touched until
dry; although a cyclopædia informs us that the leaf must be pressed down
with a camel’s hair brush. Such a proceeding would result in anything
but a nice state of affairs, as any one will find who might make the
experiment.
14.—Never retouch the gold until dry. If the leaf cracks on going on,
which it will do in inexperienced hands; do not mind it, but proceed to
lay the gold where required. On moistening with the gin-water, be
careful not to touch gold already laid, but wet close up to and
adjoining it, and let the next piece of leaf lay or lap a little over
the first. The moisture runs from the one into the other and makes the
junction, when dry, complete.
15.—When the lay is completed and dry, proceed to patch up any cracks
and imperfections. This is done by using the number 6 or 8 lettering
pencil, and with its long and flexible point, filled with sufficient of
the gin-water, wetting the cracks and imperfections one by one and
applying pieces of the gold leaf of the required sizes to cover them up
completely.
These pieces at once adhere to and join the lay perfectly, and, when
they come to be burnished over, never show in the least where they have
been applied, unless the burnish-size is too harsh and hard. In this
case, the double layer of gold is brought out.
16.—In about an hour or so, for the flats and hollows, and rather longer
for those places where the moisture settles and collects, and
consequently remains longer, the lay will be ready to be burnished. The
burnisher should be held at an angle, not too perpendicularly, and
applied to the gold, finishing as you go along, and burnishing only a
small piece at a time. Burnish right over the leaf, just as it has been
laid, without brushing off the loose gold leaf.
17.—Burnish over the loose and the firm gold together. Sometimes, and
most generally, there will be imperfections in the burnishing when first
completed. These may arise from imperfect adhesion of the leaf, or from
the leaf rubbing off when the burnish-size has been made too strong with
glue, and so the surface has become harsh and hard. These imperfect
places may be repaired by simply rubbing them with a wet rag to remove
any leaf still adhering, and, when dry, going over them with a thin coat
or two of burnish-size and relaying them with gold; but using the least
moisture possible, or otherwise a stain will appear around the edges
where the moisture has settled. Of course, such places must be
reburnished. No moisture should ever be allowed to get on the leaf where
another piece of gold leaf is not at once affixed, as otherwise a stain
will be made which will mar the uniform purity of the burnish.
18.—Sometimes the surface will chip under the burnisher, particularly
about an edge or corner, when too much pressure is applied. This may
arise from several causes, but most generally does from the fact that
the first and second coats of size have not been of the proper strength,
and consequently have a tendency to crumble when the burnisher is
applied with more than ordinary force.
19.—In very warm weather, gilders are in the habit of putting a piece of
ice in the gin-water. The object of this is not particularly clear. It
is claimed for it, however, that it causes the gin-water to lay better
on the surface of the burnish-size.
If a chip should occur in a prominent flat, there is no remedy but to
wash off the gold leaf with a wet rag, and down to the hard finish, and
to re-do the side entirely over. When not too prominent, fill up the
chipped place with Paris white, and when dry, scrape smooth with a
penknife, and after giving two or three coats of burnish-size, re-lay
the gold and reburnish.
Be careful, when burnishing edges and corners, to bear as lightly as
possible with the burnisher, in order to avoid chipping.
20.—Marks in the burnish sometimes appear which seem to be stains, and
which branch off in many ways. Such defects are most probably caused by
the gin-water being too strong.
21.—The next step will be to apply the oil gold-size to these parts
which have been left bare of gold and which have been thoroughly sized
with the clear size. It is customary to previously go over with clear
size these places which have been touched with burnish-size and which
have not received any coating of gold; otherwise the oil-size would be
absorbed and would leave no tacky surface to which the gold leaf would
adhere. Sufficient of the gold-size should be taken from the can
containing it, after first stirring the gold-size up thoroughly, so as
to mix it completely with the oil which generally settles on top of it.
A piece of tin or glass is the best thing to work from, and the bristle
brush with which the size is to be applied should be well rubbed on it
from time to time, to distribute the size thoroughly through the brush.
The size must be applied thoroughly to the frame, not too freely, so
as to run and settle in hollows, but just enough to cover the surface
with a complete coating. Be particular to work the size into all corners
and crevices. The brush should not at any time be overcharged with the
size. If the size is not evenly distributed over the frame, those places
where it settles will simply coat over with a film, leaving the size
underneath still fluid, and when the gold comes to be rubbed in with the
blender, the film will quickly rub off, and the gold leaf will
consequently not adhere.
If any of the oil-size has got upon the burnished parts, which in spite
of all care will occur at times, it must be rubbed off with a
chamois-skin and if such places are still dingy after the oil gilding,
they will admit of considerable polishing with the chamois.
22.—The coat of oil-size must now be allowed to dry. The time required
for this purpose depends altogether upon the drying quality of the size.
It is generally made to dry in about ten hours and to retain its tacky
surface for several days. It is well to allow it to stand for, at least,
from twenty to twenty-four hours; particularly in the winter time, as
the more thoroughly dry it is, the brighter will the gilding appear when
completed.
When this coating of oil-size has dried sufficiently, it will be ready
to have the leaf applied. The leaf, as it is applied, is pressed down
gently with a pad of cotton batting. When the frame has been completely
covered, take a soft fitch blender and with it distribute the gold
thoroughly into corners and depressions. Be careful not to rub too hard,
or the gold will be either rubbed off or assume a greasy appearance. If
this be all properly done, the gold will have almost as bright and
polished an appearance as if it had been burnished.
23.—After dusting the frame well, to remove as much of the dust and
particles of leaf as possible, proceed to give these portions only of
the frame which have been gilded in oil a coat of finishing-size, which
is prepared in the following manner:
Take one part of the melted gelatine or glue, as already prepared, and
add to it four parts of water. Now, with a camel’s hair brush, apply
this finishing size, hot, or nearly so, very sparingly, but very
thoroughly. This finishing size may be colored, if desired, so as to
deepen the shade of gold; using for that purpose, dragon’s blood, gum
gamboge or aniline yellow. Only one coat of this size should be applied.
This finishing-size serves to give a uniform appearance to the gold,
slightly matting the metallic lustre of it, and having the effect also
to absorb and remove the loose gold dust and particles still remaining.
It also protects the surface from becoming dingy from smoke or other
impurities which frequently prevail in rooms.
24.—If it should be desired to render the appearance of the gold still
duller or more matted, a very thin coat of the ormolu, which is
hereinafter described, should be applied instead of the finishing-size.
The more matted the appearance of the surrounding gold, the brighter and
more lustrous will be the burnished part. This is altogether a matter of
taste and fashion, sometimes a preference for one effect and sometimes
for another, prevailing with the public.
25.—Before the application of the finishing size, any imperfectly
covered places must be regilded, using for a size the Japan gold size.
This size sets in about an hour, and for that reason is preferable to
the ordinary oil-size. The places to be regilt should be first gone over
with shellac varnish. Whenever gold is to be regilt, it must be gone
over with shellac, as otherwise it will have a greasy appearance.
26.—Old frames that are to be regilt, should be first washed clean and
free from dirt, and then be given a coat of shellac before the oil-size
is applied. Where any burnish has been, it must, of course, be washed
off before the reburnishing can be done.
Some gilders use shellac varnish in place of the clear size, to size the
frame for the oil gilding. It works well enough on the composition
parts, but on the flats and hollows it dries so rapidly that it leaves
ridges and inequalities to such an extent that the smoothness of the
work is spoiled. For quick work, however, and by using the shellac very
sparingly and giving two coats of it, very good results are to be had.
27.—Flats are generally matted. Occupying, as they do, a prominent and
conspicuous position, being next to the picture which is to occupy the
frame, they require to be very perfectly done, and they are therefore
done in _water-gilt_, and subsequently matted with a coat and sometimes
with two of ormolu. The flat to be matted is proceeded with as follows:
After all imperfections have been removed, it must be rubbed smooth with
very fine sand paper and polished with a moist rag. Three coats of
burnish-size are then applied very evenly and smoothly to it, avoiding
all marks of the brush where possible; or two coats of yellow clay,
prepared in the same manner as the burnish-size, and afterwards two
coats of burnish-size, are given. When the final coat is sufficiently
dry, the flat must be polished with a piece of coarse paper, or it may
even be burnished, when time is no object. If the inside edge should be
intended to be burnished after being laid in gold, that part must not be
polished, nor receive the coat of very thin glue water, which is to be
applied after the polishing process to all that part which is to be
matted. This coat of glue water must be applied very evenly and freely
to the flat, avoiding bubbles if possible. When dry, the flat is all
laid in gold in the same manner as proceeded with when laying the gold
for the burnish work.
28.—The best plan to lay a perfect flat is to double-gild it, which
consists in simply laying on another coat of gold after the first has
dried. The first coat when dry, as well as the second, must be rubbed
smooth with a wad of cotton batting. Care must be exercised during this
process, in order to avoid, as much as possible, disturbing the lay. To
lay a second coat over the first, the gin-water must be washed over at
once, so as to avoid washing up the gold leaf.
29.—After the gold has been rubbed smooth with the cotton, a coat of
ormolu must be applied to the unburnished part, to impart to it the
matted appearance required. The ormolu should be applied warm and by
means of a camel’s hair brush, and the application must be very nicely
and carefully done.
30.—The following is the manner in which the ormolu is prepared:
Take a teaspoonful of either the tincture of gum benzoin or of white
shellac varnish, and mix it in a cup with about twice or three times its
bulk of the highest proof alcohol. Now have ready a hot solution of glue
or of gelatine, of about the same strength as that of the finishing
size. The quantity should be about one-half a teacupful. This must be
poured quickly and all at once into the solution of the gum benzoin or
of shellac, and the result will be a perfect emulsion of the gum, which
will be of a milky white appearance. This, of course, should be
strained, and is to be applied as already described. If the first coat
should appear spotty and streaky, a second one will be necessary. In
applying either the finishing size or the ormolu, it is well to have a
lump of alum convenient, to which, from time to time, the brush may be
applied. This will, in the case of either, cause it to go on in a better
manner and to lay more evenly.
The ormolu, as prepared by the above method, will keep for any length of
time. It may also be slightly colored, if it be desired to give the gold
a deeper tinge.
31.—The frame will now be about finished, as far as the gilding is
concerned. The sections must now be returned to their respective places
and securely nailed together.
The outside edge of the frame, if it has been burnished, will require no
further preparation, but if it has been gilded in oil, or if it has
simply been laid in water, it should have a coat of white spirit varnish
applied with a camel’s hair brush. This coating of varnish will render
the layer of leaf sufficiently hard to be handled without injury to it.
32.—When the edge has not been gilded at all, it is the practice to give
it two coats of yellow ochre, mixed about as strong as those of the pipe
clay and applied with a bristle brush. The yellow ochre should be
strained before being applied.
33.—Before anything has been done to the frame, and after the sections
have been taken apart, it is well to protect the outside corners with
pieces of wood securely fastened to the back. This will prevent them
from being injured while being gilded. Gilders generally suspend a frame
when not being worked upon, to some projection, to keep it out of the
way of injury; but, with the corners protected, it may be stood anywhere
with safety.
34.—In the foregoing description of the process of gilding, the
burnished part has been described as being done before the oil gilding.
The oil gilding may, however, be done first and the burnishing
afterwards. This manner of proceeding is generally practiced in Europe,
but not so much in this country.
However, when much burnishing is to be done, this method is recommended.
All those parts of the frame which are to be oil gilded must be coated
with the oil gold-size; and wherever this size has got upon places to be
burnished, it must be scrupulously wiped off. Then, after the size has
set and before it has been gilded, all these parts which are to be
burnished must be gone over with a coat or two of pipe clay, to which
has been added an extra quantity of ox-gall, in order to cause these
coats to lay perfectly over any spots which the oil-size may have
touched. Then apply the burnish-size, as previously described. When
burnishing, be very careful not to touch with the burnisher those parts
which have been oil gilded, and do not burnish too close to them.
35.—Sanded work is used very much in combination with composition on
picture-frames. The sand, or crushed quartz, is made to adhere by means
of glue. Such sanded work must have a very thorough coating of Paris
white before being gilded.
36.—Plain wood, where the grain is to be shown after being gilt, must be
well treated with shellac before having the size applied.
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