how to use gold leaf

[shaiadancer]

I am interested in applying some gold leaf to silver but I'm not sure how to go about it, can anyone give me any advice?

[Kwant]

I believe the only way to apply gold leaf to silver would be to use size/glue though this would not be very durable, it is way too thin to tolerate being torched I know I tried. I have seen mention of being able to use gold foil, which is quite a bit thicker but cannot find the thread which explained the method, I would guess foil could be fused to fine silver or maybe even soldered using a very thin scraping of paste type solder.

[daisychain]

The art of applying gold foil to fine silver, including pmc/art clay, or to sterling silver that has been treated to give a fine silver surface is called Keum Boo. It's an old Korean technique that literally translates as "attached gold". No solder or glue is involved. The pure gold and pure silver fuse together through a combination of heat and pressure - put simply you heat the silver, apply the foil and then burnish it in place. It takes practise, but the results can be stunning.

[medusa]

how fine is the gold leaf and where do you get it from? I'm guessing it's less thin than regular gold leaf?

[Joe]

A word from your sponsor: Gold for Keum Boo (http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/23.5ct-Yellow-Gold-Foil-For-Keum-Boo-3.5-X-3.5-Sheet-prcode-855-033A).

[medusa]

heh, ok, thank you! eyewateringly expensive. I wonder if you can do tiny bits of keum boo or if you need a largish area to get good adhesion.

[ps_bond]

How small do you want to go? Flecks work.

[medusa]

they do? so nearly hundred quid sheet could stretch a long way?

[DianeT]

Hi

Coming out of lurkdom to add that The PMC Studio sells 3 x 4 cm sheets of gold foil for Keum Boo for £12.46.

DianeT

[Joe]

Perhaps Cookies have their decimal point in the wrong place? There's only a couple of quid's worth of gold in the sheet!

Oops! I greatly malign them, they're selling the sheet with imperial dimensions (and SI thickness), which makes it £11 worth of gold.

[medusa]

still seems expensive, but then if it's 25 x thicker than this stuff https://www.thepmcstudio.co.uk/shop/article_233/24kt-gold-Korean-foil.html?sessid=cW7aFUtH1kP3esdHiXZM0WmUN5RbjSDR9 DxKRzYdO1G3qzUbOUhgeQ0NAg3ODLt6&shop_param=cid%3D13%26aid%3D233%26 then I suppose it's pretty cheap.

[medusa]

OK, the PMC studio stuff is 13 microns thick as a FYI.

[little rabbit]

sorry to bud in, I bought this by mistake, before Cookson had gold foil for Keum Boo.

http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery/23.75-Ct-Gold-Leaf-1-Booklet=25-Loose-Leaves-80x80mm-Loose-Leaf-prcode-855-001

they are so thin, it's almost see through.
I followed a tutorial on You tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9oleQTWcf0&playnext=1&list=PL09F4131EE05C0BEB


because the sheets are so thin, I had to repeat the process 3 times, and here is the result:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/momojewellery/sets/72157626849959421/


I scratched the pieces with my fingernails, the gold is not coming off, I think I may be alright.


Oh, did I say thank you Joe for recommending those cabi drill bits, without you, I wouldn't have finished those pieces.
Thank you, Dennis, now I can SEE!
Thank you, Peter... for caring.

xoxo
Margaret

[medusa]

oh oho oh!

I looooove this ring!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2608/5839171418_93080fdf0a.jpg

[shaiadancer]

wow Margaret, I LOVE your rings! I am sooo gonna have to give this a go now

Linda

[Pauline]

They look great - I love them!

Pauline
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