The Process of Gold Leafing – A Church Steeple Cross – Part II

We have been showing our readers the process of gold leafing a church steeple cross. This post is Part II, and shows the completion, of the process.
At the end of Part I, we left off at a point in the process where the cross was being completely covered in the gold layer.

Above is a photo of that step completed, and ready for the next phase.

These papers all over the floor are sheets that the gold came off of.  As you can see, as little gold as possible is wasted.

 

But there is still a whole lot of loose bits of gold over the entire surface of the cross at this point.

So the next step is to burnish the gold.  This is done by gently rubbing the surface in circle-like motions with a large wad of very, very soft cotton.

This helps adhere any gold that was not stuck by the sizing, and it also shines the gold.  The loose flakes are truly as light as air.  You can kind of see that by the piece hanging from the cotton in the photo above.  If you were to put a piece of this gold between your fingers and rub it, it would just disappear.

Looking at the top left arm of the cross in the photo above, you can see the transformation that is taking place on the surface of the cross, from the burnishing.

When he is working quickly, there is gold floating in the air all over the place.

Remember I told you how {A} loves to help us on jobs, but that she especially has some incentive with golf-leafing jobs?  Well…..maybe this will explain why…..

She catches all she can!! She’s not above picking up any bits off the floor either!

To a kid, well, this is as good as  GOLD.  But in this case,  it literally IS. lol.  Like all of the $ she makes, she’ll save some, spend some, and give some to charity.  That’s just how she rolls.

She’s just about done….

The complete process of this cross too 5.5 hours.   Given that Michael is 5′ 11′, you can gather it’s a pretty sizable cross, and it’s pretty heavy too!!  Notice how he is holding it up with the wad of cotton.  Oils from your hands will break down the gold pretty quickly, and leave dull spot in that area.

Of course, you can’t appreciate it’s true beauty until you see it mounted on that church steeple.  This cross has long since been picked up, and I am waiting on a photo of it sitting upon it’s church.  When I receive it, I will share it with you, for you to really see it at work. : )

In not being able to handle the cross with your bare hands, and the surface being so delicate, you might imagine how difficult it might be to install the cross on it’s steeple.  Well, here’s a little chuckle for you:  Just between us, I heard this steeple jack wraps the cross in toilet paper!!  Then he wraps it in bubble wrap and a blanket, to safely get it securely in it’s place.  Then he unwraps everything, and let’s it shine in all it’s glory in the sky.

Did you ever realize all of the work that went into the gold crosses you see at the top of church steeples?  Perhaps as you see various crosses on various churches all over the world,  you’ll have a new appreciation for the craft that goes into them, and be able to share with someone else the process of  gilding the gold crosses they see.  You’ll sound so smart. : )

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