Gilding on furniture and joinery

At a glance

Qualitative only: no durability or wear figure for gilded furniture was found. Sources: US National Park Service, CCI (Michalski), AIC Conservation Wiki, our gilding pages. The gilder confirms every row.

Choose the system by how the piece is touched

Gilding is metal leaf laid on a prepared surface. On furniture and joinery the surface is usually timber, carved or turned, sometimes a sheet board, so the system under the leaf has to suit that substrate and the way the piece is used. The leaf is thinner than anything under it, so the ground does most of the work and shows most of the flaws: our journal says the leaf is so thin that every scratch and raised grain telegraphs through.

The choice between the two main systems is mostly a choice about handling. Water gilding builds gesso and bole under the leaf and can be burnished to a mirror shine, but it is the most fragile. Oil gilding sets the leaf on an adhesive size, gives an even satin sheen, and is more robust, so it suits surfaces that are handled or exposed (our gilding journal article and craft page). For the same craft on lighting frames, with the carat arithmetic and the lamp-heat question, see gilding and gold leaf on lighting; this sheet is about pieces that people sit at, lean on and open.

The ground, humidity and timber movement

The weak point of water gilding is the ground, and the ground reacts to the room. The Canadian Conservation Institute’s study of cracks in gilding found low humidity the main danger to glue-and-gesso gilding and fast change in humidity what does the harm; it gives no safe range. The US National Park Service guide adds that in very humid conditions the gesso absorbs water vapour, softens and expands, and may chip away. Both are written about historic gilded wood, so treat them as a description of what can go wrong, not a limit.

Timber moves with the room as well. A carved or panelled substrate that shrinks or swells under a rigid ground can open hairline cracks at joints, on end grain and along the grain. Nothing we read measures this for new work, and we found no source on which substrate suits which ground, so ask the gilder to name the ground proposed for the actual base (solid timber, veneer or sheet board) and why. See timber movement in panelling and veneer for the movement itself and finishes on timber joinery for the neighbouring systems.

Hairline cracking can be intended. Antique gold finishes are built by distressing the leaf and rubbing through to the bole (our craft page). Write down whether a crackled or distressed look is wanted, because otherwise the same marks read as a defect at handover.

Where furniture gilding wears

Furniture gilding wears where hands, cloths and knocks arrive. The drawing marks three common cases. The zones are our reading of where contact happens; the point for the specifier is to decide, piece by piece, which parts are gilded, which are handled, and who looks after them.

• Edges and arrises. High points and edges are where leaf is likely to rub through first (our reading, not a sourced finding). Ask whether the design needs gold on a handled edge at all.
• Touch. The National Park Service guide says skin oils can accelerate oxidation of gilt and calls gilt the most fragile of all finishes. Put handles and pulls on a different material where the design allows.
• Dust and cloths. The same guide says to dust gilt gently with a soft-bristled brush and a low-power vacuum held at least half an inch (about 13 mm) away. A dry cloth can catch and lift leaf and loose gesso.
• Liquids. On a bar or table, spills and cleaning sprays reach the gold. Nothing we read says which cleaners a sealed gilded finish tolerates, so the gilder’s care sheet decides.

Leaf, seal and the sample board

Genuine high-carat leaf is described by suppliers as often resistant to tarnish; lower-carat leaf, silver leaf and imitation leaf can tarnish and are normally sealed. Our craft page says sealing is chosen for the setting: waxes and shellacs for residential pieces, robust lacquer systems for imitation leaf and for high-traffic or humid places. It does not say how long any seal lasts, and neither did any source we read, so the sheet gives no interval.

Write the leaf in the specification by name, carat and shade (see the carat table on the lighting gilding sheet), and name the seal. A seal can change the look, so approve it on the sample, not on the drawing. Samples are for the approved scope, not on demand: see sample hierarchy and approval.

Ask for a sample board of the proposed system on the same substrate and, for carved work, on the actual profile, showing leaf, ground, seal and sheen, approved before gilding starts. Gold reads differently against a dark interior and a pale one (our journal), so judge it in the room.

Installation, touch-up and care

Gilded joinery is often installed in sections. Joints between sections, fixing holes and knocks in transit all need gilding on site, which is touch-up work to the same leaf and sheen. Specify who does it, with what, and that the touch-up method is on the care sheet. Pack gilded parts with their faces protected; see packaging and crating specification.

For the handover pack see handover and O&M pack, and for metal parts on the same piece cleaning and maintaining metal finishes.

Gilding to [item, drawing ref]: [water / oil] gilding with [genuine gold leaf, [23] carat, shade [ ]] over the ground system proposed by the gilder for the base [solid timber / veneer / sheet board] and approved in writing. Burnished areas [ ]; matt areas [ ]; distressing or crackle [none / as approved sample ref]. No imitation or composition leaf unless named in writing.

Gilded parts within reach of users: [list]. The gilder is to state in writing the seal proposed for these parts and the cleaning the finished system tolerates. Handles, pulls and other contact points: [in non-gilded material / gilded, with the gilder’s written agreement].

The gilder is to state the relative humidity range the system is intended for [ ] to [ ] per cent. A sample board of the proposed system on the same substrate [and on the carved profile] showing leaf, ground, seal and sheen is to be approved by [designer] before gilding starts [sample ref]. The gilder is to supply a care sheet for the handover pack: dusting method, what must never be used, touch-up method and who may do it.

Joints between gilded sections, fixing points and transit damage are to be gilded on site to the approved sample by [the gilder / a named finisher], using the method on the care sheet. Gilded faces are to be protected in transit and on site until handover.

Standards and sources

• US National Park Service, Museum Handbook Part I, Appendix N: gilt, humidity, dusting; 2004, modified 2020.
• Michalski (CCI): Crack mechanisms in gilding: humidity and gilding.
• AIC Conservation Wiki: Gilding: water and oil gilding; a draft entry.
• No standard applies: we found no British or international standard for gilded finishes.

Questions we are asked

Should furniture be water gilded or oil gilded?

It depends on contact. Water gilding is the only method that burnishes, and it suits fine pieces that are little handled. Oil gilding is more robust and suits surfaces that are handled or exposed. Ask the gilder to say which they propose for each part and why.

Does gilding on a table or bar front last?

We found no wear figure for gilded furniture. The National Park Service calls gilt the most fragile of all finishes and says skin oils speed oxidation. Keep gold off the most handled edges where the design allows, seal it, and get a care sheet.

Can I clean gilded joinery with a cloth?

Not unless the gilder says so. Leaf and loose gesso can catch and lift. Museum guidance is to dust with a soft brush and a low-power vacuum held off the surface; water, solvents and ammonia can harm some finishes. The gilder’s care sheet governs new work.

Why does gilding crack, and is it a defect?

Glue-and-gesso grounds respond to humidity; Michalski found low humidity and fast change the main dangers. Some antique looks are built to craquelure. Specify whether cracking is wanted, and the humidity range the gilder expects the work to live in.

Is the gold on my furniture real gold?

It can be, but ask. Genuine leaf is sold by carat, most often 22 to 24 carat. Imitation or composition leaf contains no gold and tarnishes unless sealed. Put leaf, carat and shade in the specification.

Who touches up gilding on site?

Name them in the specification. Joints, fixing points and knocks all need gilding on site to the approved sample, using the method on the care sheet.