GIlding Decorative Mouldings

The Victorian gilt moulding had been badly damaged, with cracks and loss of gesso & gold leaf. You can see the process to repair and restore the moulding using traditional water gilding. The final moulding which was over 2 ft long was ready to display in the owners house. 

Gilded Letters on Plaster or Stone

 First step mask the letters

Second step carefully size background 

Once the gold leaf is applied polish and clean tape

Gorgeous Gilded Golden Walls @Kokoro London W2

Kokoro a fabulous store in London W2 which mixes Japanese inspired prints with the very latest cutting edge designs and techniques, reopened recently with a wonderful new refit of the interior. Designer & owner Dawn Green, had a clear vision for a golden gilded wall which we were able to transform for her on the everyday white walls. As light changes so does the golden wall, worth visiting both for the wonderful clothes and for the beautiful interiors, not to mention meeting the lovely Dawn!

Gilding Religious Icons and Sculpture

 





St John The Baptist was in an extremely poor state when I was asked to restore him. The damage was primarily caused by woodworm which had loosened off the gesso and which was continuing to break away from the carved wood, riddled with tiny holes. First stop was to have him specially heat treated to rid the worm. Then it was a painstaking process of securing the existing gesso and then restoring areas of gilding. I used the traditional methods of water gilding and burnishing to match the surface area. My primary concern was to restore but not destroy the age and patina of the overall sculpture. my client wanted it to keep its integrity of appearance and age but also to stem the destruction of this beautiful sculpture.

Changing Chair to antique silver finish

This chair was transformed using aluminium leaf with a hand finished, antique distressed finish.

Track back through the processes shown in the photographs back to the original chair with dull greyish/silver paint which had oxidised and appeared matt and lifeless.

Anything can be transformed in this way! 

Just email me with a photo  and ask for an estimate.

Small Repairs to Gilded Mirror Frames

Some projects are grand and some are just simple and more homely requiring just a few repairs to bring a treasured family heirloom or purchase back into working order. A few small repairs also stop deterioration of most gilded pieces. ( stitch in time)


This was a very small pretty Swedish mirror frame that had sustained tiny amounts of damage over the year and the crest was wobbling and in time risked would  break away. The white gessoed areas are the ones i repaired before I re-gilded and matched it to the remaining frame. I toned in the bright gold to match the elegant glow of gold on this beautiful mirror.

Restoring & Repairing Chinese Lacquer work

This modern Chinese gilded screen had suffered damage in transit. The colour on the screens was scratched back to the base coat black and several areas of painting had been lost. I re-painted the flowers and trunk areas then re-gilded and matched the coloured glaze and all the damage was hidden. 

Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the original damage so I can only show the finished item!

You can see my sample board with tests to get the beautiful translucency of colour and exact tint of lustre in the lacquer correct.

I am happy to look at any painted damage with a view to restoring it, whether its a modern or antique piece.

Restoration of a Gilded & Black lacquer Torchere

This Regency Gilt & Black lacquer Torchere was in a poor state when I was asked to sensitively restore it. My client requested I restore damaged and discoloured areas to match the patina of the existing intact surfaces. 

The old gold paint had oxidised and turned it to a dull brown colour as you can see from the small base photo. Its quite an adventure doing this kind of work, as I never know what I will find under the paint. This object revealed some real gold intact, places where gold has been worn away by cleaning and many hidden damaged areas. After cleaning the old paint and dirt off I could then see which areas needed the restoration. 

The last two photos show repaired areas in white,  gessoed ready for the bole coat then gilding. 

Wherever Its possible I keep the original gilding and then match the new gold to the existing condition of the Torchere, keeping restoration to the minimum. All the finishes were traditional and in keeping with the period of the piece.