Please allow 10 -14 days for delivery of this item Sinopia Clay Boles are designed for use in water gilding. The clay is thinned with water to the consistency of cream, and mixed 1:1 with warm rabbit skin glue solution before use. Sinopia Boles have been tested in freezing conditions and are not affected by being frozen. Make sure they are thoroughly thawed before use. Choose from 5 colours in either 4oz or 16oz pots.
Bole Clay is used as part of the preparation for Water Gilding. The colour of the Bole will effect the final colour of the extremely thin gold leaf. It will also show through any areas that have not been completely covered with the gold and where the leaf has cracked or worn away. We include here the most commonly used colours.
Water Gilding is suitable for interior objects such as picture frames, plaster mouldings, and furniture. It is also the traditional technique used for illuminating manuscripts and religious artefacts. Exterior gilding, such as for signage, requires an oil based size.
Water Gilding techniques require careful preparation of the surface to be gilded. The surface needs to be very smooth because the tiniest mark will show in the gold leaf once it has been applied.
If gilding wood, clay, plaster or other porous surfaces, the first step is to paint the surface with a few applications of rabbit skin size. When this has dried. 3-10 coats of gesso are applied “wet-on-wet”. Traditional gesso is made from Rabbit Skin Glue and finely ground whiting (calcium carbonate). When dry, the gesso is sanded with fine sand paper to provide a key for the Clay Bole.
After the final coat of gesso has dried, several coats of clay bole mixed with Rabbit Skin Glue are applied with a soft brush. Once the clay bole has dried and been sanded smooth, it can be polished with a soft cloth or cotton wool. ** If you want to burnish the gold after it is applied, it is essential that the surface is dust free and perfectly smooth so that the gold does not tear **
The glue in the bole is activated by wetting it with water and the gold leaf is placed onto the dampened surface with a Gilders Tip. The area is allowed to dry before brushing away the excess gold with a soft Gilders mop and burnishing the surface to a mirror shine.
