Divolo Armenian gilding bole without glue, 300 or 700 ml

Build a smooth, burnishable ground beneath metal leaf with Divolo Bolo Armeno. This fine, plastic clay is dispersed in water and contains no rabbit-skin glue. For traditional water gilding, mix the bole with a separately prepared glue solution. The ground supports laying the leaf and later burnishing suitable gold leaf.

Choose the size and ground colour

You receive one 300 or 700 ml jar in yellow ochre, black or red. The ground colour can show through seams, edges and gaps in the leaf. Compare samples with the same leaf to choose the effect you want. Rabbit-skin glue, metal leaf, brush, agate burnisher and the object to gild are required separately.

Add glue and build thin coats

Prepare rabbit-skin glue separately in a water bath and add the warm solution to the bole. As a starting guide, use approximately 1 litre of 10% glue solution for 300 ml of bole. This means diluted glue solution, rather than a litre of dry glue. Scale the ratio for a small working portion and record your mixture. Warm the bole in a water bath without boiling the water until the mixture is easy to brush.

Apply the glue-bole mixture lukewarm to a suitably prepared ground. Build thin coats, allowing each to dry; five or six coats may be needed. In a dry room at 20 °C, a coat dries in about 40 minutes, depending on thickness and conditions. Wait 24 hours after the final coat before sanding.

Dry, smooth and gild

Smooth the dry ground carefully, including carvings and ornament. Try abrasive paper on a sample first; the preparation affects the final sheen. For water gilding, reactivate the added glue locally with a damp brush and lay leaf on the dampened area. After drying, burnish suitable gold leaf with an agate stone. Test imitation leaf within your chosen gilding system first.

Before starting the object, make a small sample using the same mixture and metal leaf. Record the coats, glue ratio and drying conditions, then check adhesion and sheen after burnishing. If needed, add a little water during warming to thin the mixture. Clean brushes immediately after use with warm water and soap.

Careful handling

Contains CMIT/MIT (mixture of 5-chloro-2-methyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one and 2-methyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one). May produce an allergic reaction. Avoid skin contact and wash hands after use. Use dedicated work containers, protect the work area and follow the label on your jar.

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