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shaiadancer
05-06-2011, 08:38 AM
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
06-06-2011, 02:52 PM
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
06-06-2011, 06:27 PM
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
06-06-2011, 07:59 PM
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
06-06-2011, 09:00 PM
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
06-06-2011, 11:23 PM
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
07-06-2011, 06:22 AM
How small do you want to go? Flecks work.

medusa
07-06-2011, 10:14 PM
they do? so nearly hundred quid sheet could stretch a long way?

DianeT
08-06-2011, 07:17 AM
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
08-06-2011, 09:22 AM
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
15-06-2011, 06:07 PM
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
16-06-2011, 07:59 PM
OK, the PMC studio stuff is 13 microns thick as a FYI.

little rabbit
16-06-2011, 08:33 PM
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
17-06-2011, 08:36 PM
oh oho oh!

I looooove this ring!

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

shaiadancer
14-08-2011, 03:11 PM
wow Margaret, I LOVE your rings! I am sooo gonna have to give this a go now

Linda

Pauline
15-08-2011, 09:22 AM
They look great - I love them!

Pauline
x

HK17
29-08-2017, 12:31 PM
I'm considering trying keum boo and have watched the really helpful video from Cooksons and read other info. So far I have only watched demonstrations of heating sheet silver, which is easy to lay down on a heat plate. What tips does anybody have for heating a ring when I want to apply the gold to a flat surface soldered onto a ring shank - any other trickyer shapes for that matter, like little cups. Thanks.

pearlescence
29-08-2017, 01:02 PM
Not strictly the same topic but I have been playing with gold leaf - at times more on my nose than where I wanted it - my query is..am I being too parsimonious keeping all the papers with wisps of gold leaf with a view to sending them to the melt? Do I need to lighten up and get a life or should I carry on keeping

CJ57
29-08-2017, 02:58 PM
Not strictly the same topic but I have been playing with gold leaf - at times more on my nose than where I wanted it - my query is..am I being too parsimonious keeping all the papers with wisps of gold leaf with a view to sending them to the melt? Do I need to lighten up and get a life or should I carry on keeping

I keep it all and just build up layers with scrap pieces, haven't got to the saving for scrap stage yet!

CJ57
29-08-2017, 03:09 PM
I'm considering trying keum boo and have watched the really helpful video from Cooksons and read other info. So far I have only watched demonstrations of heating sheet silver, which is easy to lay down on a heat plate. What tips does anybody have for heating a ring when I want to apply the gold to a flat surface soldered onto a ring shank - any other trickyer shapes for that matter, like little cups. Thanks.

The same still goes for heating up larger pieces it just takes longer. Having said that I often use a small torch to fire my Keum Boo holding the piece in pliers over the flame and pulling it away every so often so that it doesn't over heat. I've been doing a few cup shapes recently and the agate burnishers are a bit more tricky so I've been using doming punches to get into the curves and that's worked well and they don't heat up so quickly. You can see examples on my Fb page to give you an idea of what I can achieve which is sometimes quite random but I've learnt to be more flexible with my plans as so much gold gets blown out of place by anything from the gas to a wee breath of wind!

LydiaNiz
29-08-2017, 07:00 PM
I *love* keum boo. It's a really satisfying process. It takes a bit of practice and patience, but can look amazing. Just remember not to breathe out when you're heating the metal :-"
Here are some bits and bobs I've done using it.
10448 10449 10452 10450 10451