This gilding kit was put together by Adam Cornish of Adam Cornish Woodturning, a highly experienced woodworker. Adam often incorporates metal leaf into his hand-turned contemporary pieces to add contrast and colour to enhance the natural features of the wood. All the tools in this kit come recommended by Adam as essential tools for the application of leaf to hand-carved, or hand-turned, pieces.
The kit contains:
Gilders Cushion - Loose leaf is laid on the cushion prior to gilding to allow it to be cut. The soft suede fabric holds the leaf and doesn't scratch it.
Gilders Knife - A specialised knife with a long handle and a long, sharp straight blade. It is designed to cut an entire sheet of leaf in a single motion without tearing it.
Gilders Tip - As loose leaf is too delicate to handle by hand it must instead be handled using a brush. This brush consists of squirrel hair mounted onto a cardboard handle and is used to pick up small amounts of cut leaf.
Acrylic Gold Size - An acrylic-based adhesive for securing gold leaf to a prepared surface. Acrylic size is quick drying, stays receptive to leaf for an extended time, and is easily washed up with water.
To create your own beautiful gilded pieces the all you'll need apart from this kit are some common brushes, for applying the size and removing excess leaf, and the leaf itself!