How to gild glass?
Below you’ll find a photo of a gold leaf sample letter on glass. We made this glass gilding sample letter by hand at the shop. This gold leaf letters sample has a matte 23 karat gold leaf interior with a mirror gold leaf outline. First, we painted the black outline and shadow. The linework on this sample is a bit rough just because it’s only a sample, and we produced it quickly while testing new application methods. Finally, we send the glass gilding sample letter to the owners of Filomena Restaurant in DC. In short, the owners approved the letter, and we completed the window gilding at their eatery shortly after that. For sure, this was an exciting installation. We would certainly love to do more projects like this one.
What’s the difference between matte gold leaf and mirror gold leaf?
Matte gold leaf and mirror gold leaf are the same types of leaf. We achieve this difference in the look and texture by using different adhesives during application. To create a matte gold leaf letter on glass, we use clear varnish as the adhesive and lay the gold leaf on the varnish. Similarly, we use a technique known commonly as water gilding to make a mirror gold leaf letter. We make a water-based gelatin size. It’s just water with a bit of gelatin melted into it. In effect, this clear adhesive allows the gold leaf to lay on the glass more directly, creating a mirror-like effect.
Gilded windows at restaurants
We used this technique to gild the restaurant windows at Filomena Restaurante in Georgetown, Washington, DC. If my memory serves me well, I believe we produced the final product in this way. First, we painted varnish onto the glass to prepare the flat gold leaf sections, backed up the interior matte gold, and painted the outline simultaneously. Finally, we returned the next day to add the mirror gold leaf sections. Then, at last, we backup up the entire letter with black enamel paint.
