Gold Leafing a Tray

3 Materials

$10

2 Hours

Easy

you may be heard about gold leaf and the beautiful metallic effects it gives. The metallic leaf is a super thin metallic sheets that comes in gold, silver, copper and rose gold. The gold leaf is approximately 91.7% pure gold 22 karat gold. Layering gold leaf over a surface called gold leafing or gilding.

But let me tell you that the outcomes of it is just beyond the reality. It’s a real beauty with a perfect metallic effect just like the gold or silver decor pieces you see in the stores. When i saw it the first time on a furniture flip show on YouTube five years ago I didn’t realized what exactly was it, until i found the gold leaf in Michael store. For a first time using it, I decided to put it in a painting project and guess what that was a 100 dollar worthy canvas.

I practiced more on vases and glasses just to use to work with it. And i find that very interesting and great indoor project if it’s too chilly to work outdoor. If you maybe never had the opportunity to work with it? Give a chance to this tutorial to encourage you to start using it in your future projects.

Wrapping the tray

I fetched this tray in a thrift store, i had the projection of a beautiful trendy tray, just like the ones i see in expensive stores.

First, i washed the tray and then i well wrapped the mirror with newspaper and tape so it will not get dirty when I spray it.

List of items

For this project i used satin black spray paint, gold leaf sheets, mod podge glue (recommend for metallic leaf), sealer, foam brush for glue, and a brush for brushing out the excess of the gold leaf.

Spraying the tray

I sprayed the handles in black, and tried to spray all over the top, bottom and sides.

Apply the glue

How to do it?

First, put your mod podge on the area you want to gold leafing using a foam brush, let it dry for a little bit. Lay your gilding sheet on top of your mod podge, press firmly, and let dry 1 hour or so.

Gilding process

you Can use the left over of the gold leaf to fill the uncovered area or just collect them for another time.

Carefully remove your gilding sheet, brush off the excess gilding material, and, if desired, seal with a clear acrylic sealer to set. I love the imperfect edges and abstract shapes but again you can do whatever shape you want it can be a Sharp edges though.