
Hello,
This week I finished gilding two ceilings
in a mansion in Vancouver.
The 2 ceilings measured:
- 10x10 Feet (3 x 3 square meters)
- 14x12 Feet (4.27 x 3.66 square meters).
On this occasion I used aluminum leaf and to adhere the leaf to a painted surface I used a water-based size (or glue).
The aluminum leaf is a good sustitute for real silver leaf, and cheaper than genuine silver leaf.
There are two major drawbacks when gilding or plating a ceiling.
The first is you must be careful to place the leaves in a straight line, because on such a large surface a diagonal line is very noticable and does not give the correct look as a single sheet of silver.
The second major drawback is the position of the Gilders neck. It can be very tiring and makes it very dificult for the gilder to maintain focus and keep the lines straight, and to apply the sheets evenly and properly.
The 2 above drawbacks aside, I am very pleased with the end result, as is the owner.
The first ceiling:
The 2nd ceiling:
Thank you for reading.