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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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Did you know that many of the gold church crosses you see are actually real gold? If you did know that, have you ever wondered what the process is to apply the gold? This is called gold leafing, or gilding, and today we are going to show Part I of that process with you, on a church steeple cross.

In Michael’s business of truck lettering and sign making, he often does gilding. Gilding is the process of applying a fine, thin layer of real gold, to a prepped surface. Often times, letters or graphics are done on flat surfaces in gold on truck doors, boats, signs or storefront windows. 3D letters can also be gilded, to be applied to a building side, sign, etc. Michael has done gilding for all of those lettering purposes.

But he also does weather vanes, and church steeple crosses! He is often-subcontracted by Christopher Burgess, of The Burgess Company Steeple Jacks from Pembroke, MA. As a steeple and tower specialist, Chris often removes (if possible), repairs and replaces these structures for refinishing. Chris strips them and preps the surface for finishing, and often hands off the piece to Michael for gilding.
So while Michael had this church cross in to be gilded, we thought some of you might be interested in seeing the process.

This cross is 5 feet 10 inches tall, and needs to be gilded, picked up and replaced on the steeple as soon as possible.

So Michael starts with these 2 mediums….

Slow-Set Gilding Size, and Yellow Lettering Enamel. The sizing is the medium applied to the surface first, to make the gold adhere. Because the sizing is a clear oil, about a tablesp0on of yellow paint to 1/4 cup of sizing is added, to tint the oil. This way Michael can see where the oil has been applied already as he works.

He also had a weather vane to be done, but for this post we are going to focus on the cross.

Here, for this piece, he is able to roll out the mixed medium on the entire cross.

Then it needs to be left alone for awhile. For slow-size, it takes anywhere from 12-16 hours, depending on humidity, to reach a desired tack. Quick size can be ready in 2-3 hours, but is preferred for truck doors, boats and windows, when it would receive a clear coat over the surface. But slow-size is used for gilded pieces that will not be handled, touched, or washed. In these instances, the gold by itself will stand up to the elements for a number of years. In any case, the desired tackiness Michael waits for is when he can drag his knuckle on the surface and it squeaks.

Once the surface is at the appropriate tackiness, it is ready for gold.

This is how the gold comes – in a box that holds 25 books with 25 leaves per book. This is patent gold, which means that it is adhered to sheets of tissue.

A sheet of gold looks like this. This is very fine, thin gold layer.

It’s applied very carefully, to the surface, as you see above. The sheet is gently laid down, and then rubbed with a finger or thumb.

You can see how very soft and light as air the gold is.

This method, of precisely laying sheets of gold, and rubbing down to apply it, is continued over the entire surface of the cross, until it is covered completely.

The goal is to use every bit of gold off of every sheet. What’s left on the sheets like above, are used for filling in seams, cracks and missed spots.

As we’ve mentioned before, {A} is often a voluntary apprentice on our jobs. She loves to gild with Daddy-Boy. Not to say she doesn’t have an ulterior motive or 2 as well. ; ) More on that later…

This post would just be way too big and long to explain the entire process with all of the photos, so stay tuned to see how this church cross is finished, and how beautiful it looks when it is all done!

Check out PART II HERE.

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

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

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