Burnish and matt gilding are much alike in method of procedure. They are principally used for enriched ornament, cornices, and picture frames. The work is brought up to a good surface in size and whiting, and then coated with five or six coats of the matt size or burnish size, as the case requires, each coat being rubbed down with very fine glass paper, and the size laid on with a camel-hair brush and allowed to dry thoroughly between each coat. When the ground has a sufficient number of coats to be perfectly solid, the gold is laid with water only. The size is well wetted with water in a camel-hair brush, and the gold laid on the water, which, as it dries, carries the gold on to the size coat and fixes it there. The leaf must be laid immediately following the water while it is yet live, to accomplish this quickly, the expert gilder uses the water brush with his right hand by clenching it with the two little fingers in his fist at the same time as he has the gold upon the tip held between the forefinger and thumb of the same hand. The flowing water catches the gold from the tip, and spreads it out smoothly on the surface of the water in the moment or two between the application and the absorption of the water by the distemper ground.

This completes the gilding as far as the matt portion is concerned, except for a final clear sizing and sometimes coloring or coating with ormolu.

The burnished portion, however, requires polishing or burnishing. This is done at the moment the gilding is dry, and before it becomes so hard as to be brittle. An agate or flint stone, set in a handle, is the burnisher. These are of different shapes. They are rubbed lightly against the gold, which takes a remarkably high polish, and retains it. Burnished gold must not be sized.

Burnish and matt gilding are confined to the flat or curved plain portions of the work, and are done first. The enriched and fancy parts are afterwards oil-sized and gilded in the usual manner.

Ormolu for matt gold is prepared from best garnet shellac and white sticklac dissolved in spirits of wine, and tinted to the required depth with dragon's blood, a few drops are added to the usual gelatine or parchment size to produce an even, lusterless and rich surface of any desired depth.