Gilded mirror

   This project involved replacing a piece of decorative vine missing from this 20th century gilt mirror frame.  The lost area is indicated in the photo above with two red arrows.  A clear representation of the missing area was located (by the single red arrow above) to provide a copy.  Visual analysis of the original frame construction indicated a .5" wooden backing adhered to a cast decorative front.  This surface was finished with oil gilded gold leaf. 

   The approach used in this repair involved re-creating the processes of its original construction.  First I traced an outline of the sample area on a .5" thick piece of balsa wood, and then cut the design out with a band saw.  A mold impression of the top surface sample area was then made using a two part  mold making material (silicone rubber).  A cast of this mold was then made using a two part epoxy putty.  This piece was sanded flat on the back prior to adhering the mold to the wood substrate, then shaped to remove excess material .  This joined piece was then glued to the frame.   The replacement piece was easily isolated so no gilding overlap would occur.  I chose a traditional oil gilding size manufavtured by Le Franc & Bourgeois and 23.75 K Italian gold leaf.   After the size had reached an appropriate tack the leaf was adhered and allowed to set thoroughly before a sealer coat of shellac was applied. The newly gilt area was then toned to match its surroundings using an oil based glaze and marble dust.

Carved Console and Mirror

      This project involved attaching metal leaf to the visible surfaces of this walnut, hand carved console and mirror. This process is called gilding, or more specifically for this project oil gilding. The goal was to create a traditional looking gilt object that showed characteristic signs of aging and use.  Treatment involved an initial cleaning and degreasing of all surfaces to be gilded.  Scuff sanding of the surface was then performed to ensure proper adhesion of the subsequent surface materials.  In order to mitigate the expensive cost of (gold leaf) material over such a large amount of surface, I developed a method to use a combination of  23.75 k gold and composition metal leaf, which I purchased from http://www.seppleaf.com/.  The composition metal leaf was attached to the recessed areas using a fast drying oil size.  These areas were initially sealed with a coat of shellac and later glazed to "age" or darken and diminish the subtle color differences between types of leaf. 

    The more prominant foreground areas were first coated with an oil-based, red primer coat, and smoothed before the gold leaf was attached with a slow drying oil size.  Unlike composition leaf, which can be easily handled, gold leaf requires special tools to work with.  Some of these include a gilders pad, knife, and soft, natural bristle "tamping" brushes to ensure the gold is carefully adhered to the surface.  Because this process is time consuming (the console portion took 99 hrs!), and the size has a limited working time, dividing the piece into smaller areas of work was necessary.  After all the surfaces were covered in leaf, an additional dark brown oil-based glaze was applied.  Lastly, a coat of clear paste wax was applied using a range of buffing pressures to rub-off some gold leaf on prominant surfaces.

Georgian Corner Washbasin

                                                                                                     This Georgian Mahogany corner washbasin had severe structural damage to the lower shelf and drawer. The tenon joints were shattered from numerous nails being driven into them and were hanging below unable to support the drawer.  The rest of the piece was firmly glued together. Also the top front edge was missing a few inches of veneer. 

The lower shelf area was disassembled completely and new material was attached to the lower rails ends behind the veneer face.  This material was then shaped to fit into the corresponding mortises.  The skinny, flexible nature of the legs enabled me to insert the lower shelf support with its new joints, without having to disassemble the entire piece. The drawer runners and fixed side panels were then reattached using fish glue.  New pieces of mahogany veneer were cut to fill losses on the top front edge.  These new pieces were then toned with Earth pigments and sealed with shellac to match the surrounding area.  The entire piece was then coated with paste wax and buffed.

Lacquered Chest

This tall chest was treated for flaking gesso groundcoating and some losses of the lacquered surface design.  These areas were concentrated around the drawer edges, probably due to routine use.  First the loose areas of gesso groundcoat were re-adhered to the surface using a rabbit skinglue solution.  Next the gesso filling material was prepared using an historical recipe of  chalk and rabbit skinglue.  The heated gesso is then brushed into the lost areas in layers to build up the surface.  Once the gesso has thoroughly dried it is shaved to the height of the adjoining surface using a sharp chisel.  The white fill areas were then inpainted to match the existing faux tortoise shell lacquering with a shellac medium and earth pigment powders from Sinopia Pigments and Materials.

SF Chronicle Article

Today I was lucky enough to be featured in the SF Chronicle newspaper! Click A Nearly Lost Art if you'd like to view the article.


 

Draw Leaf Table

In this project the oak veneer on this table top had become so compromised that large areas were missing, and all of it was becoming unglued. Repairing the damage was not an option, it was necessary to remove the remaining veneer. New English oak veneer pieces were then cut and laid out to match the original pattern, before being re glued to the substrate wood. Color matching the stain and finish to the original (base) was the final step. One resource for veneer sheets and strips that I use is Woodcraft at www.woodcraft.com

Mahogany Sideboard

This mahogany sideboard had numerous restoration challenges including; a badly cracked top, a broken leg, and incorrect style replacement door locks (with no keys). In addition there were areas of missing veneer and decorative inlay banding, as well as thick, poorly applied coats of varnish.




First the (up to half inch wide) cracks on the top were glued together with hand shaped strips of solid wood. Then the top surface was scraped and sanded flat. During the finishing phase, these and some of the other repairs were touched up using earth toned pigments mixed with shellac.





Another part of this project involved replacing the modern cabinet door locks with traditional cabinet locks and keyhole escutcheons. In addition to the new locks being fit in the door backs, large areas of solid mahogany had to be inlaid over the over sized (previous) keyhole. Then new banding was inlaid, before cutting out the final key hole and insetting the escutcheon. The hardware in this project was purchased from Horton Brasses Inc., an excellent resource for antique style hardware.


After completion of all the repairs both structural and cosmetic, the finishing phase is the next step. In this project refinishing of some of the surfaces was needed, while other areas were cleaned and top coated. The end result is to blend together repairs and the overall natural color of the piece using a hand applied shellac finish.