Gilding
gold leaf, silver, brass, and other precious metals
Real gold leaf looks different from gold paint. It isn't a matter of taste — it's physics. Gold leaf reflects light the way no pigment can, shifting and shimmering with the angle of view in a way that reads as unmistakably precious, even when you can't say exactly why.
Gilding is one of the oldest decorative techniques in the world, and one of the most demanding. The leaf — 23 carat gold, beaten to a thickness of around 0.1 microns — is applied to a carefully prepared surface using specialist adhesive (size), pressed gently into place, and then burnished or sealed depending on the application. Done properly, the result lasts decades. The gilded lettering on Victorian pub mirrors, on the doors of old solicitor's offices, on the fanlights of Georgian townhouses — much of it is original, and it still gleams.
Delicious Signs works with 23ct gold leaf, silver leaf, and aluminium, copper, and brass leaf for jobs where the colour and budget call for something different. Gilding can be applied to glass (including reverse gilding from the inside of a window, which creates a beautiful, luminous finish), wood, stone, metal, and painted surfaces.
Common applications include shop front lettering, glass door and window gilding, interior decorative panels, framed artwork and mirrors, furniture details, and signage for high-end residential properties. If you want something to look genuinely expensive, gilding is one of the most effective ways to achieve it — and because it's done by hand on-site or in the studio, the result is specific to your job rather than a generic product off a shelf.
The design consultation process is the same as for any Delicious Signs project: a conversation, a design, an approval, and then the work. Gilding projects vary significantly in scale — from a single letter on a door panel to a full shop front — and pricing reflects that.
Get in touch to talk through your project.