I've been looking into gilding some decks myself just to see how they come out...it's not TOO expensive a hobby to get into, especially if you're ordering imitation gold/silver as opposed to the real stuff. Figured I would practice a couple on some cheap Walgreens/walmart decks and then if I get good, I'll put some of the real stuff on the decks I like the most. From what I've read up on so far, it isn't too labor intensive either.
So, Uusi is charging the same for their copper and gold gilded decks...however a book (25 sheets) of 24k gold is apx. 50 bux against the same quantity of copper which is only 10. I guess when you're creating them that exclusively you can charge more so I won't complain. Not to mention they are putting more work into those decks. Still, the prospect of gilding my own decks is probably enough to convince me to refrain from ever purchasing another gilded deck.
Has anyone here attempted to leaf-gild some decks? How did it go?
Gilding is not simply a skill - it's an art. I've never attempted it myself, but there's so many ways it can go wrong. If it's even slightly like the process of "painting" the edge of a deck, it's easy to do poorly, a lot less easy to do well. I've used a marker to color the edges of a black deck black - it's messy, the ink will transfer for a while and the deck's performance takes a hit. Done well, it looks great. Done poorly, it looks like crap. Doing it to a white-edged deck is NOT recommended, because the odds of it looking like crap are many times greater.
I can only imagine how many decks Uusi went through before they got the gilding process down so well, they were able to offer it commercially. And even with that practice, the quantities are limited not just because "limited is better," but because it's not an easy thing to do. They charge what they charge not simply because of the cost of the materials, but because the entire process isn't easy. They're likely charging the same for copper and gold decks because they're using the lower cost of the copper to subsidize the higher cost of the gold in the very small number of decks they offer with this process.
Painted gilding - using a liquid paint instead of metallic leaf - isn't a walk in the park, either. That's the type of gilding USPC offers, and they won't do it unless you're making a huge order of non-gilded decks. They STILL have to apply the gilding by hand. But the painted gilding won't hold up as well over time and use and won't look as good.
I think this sums it up nicely: if gilding was cheap and easy, there'd be a lot more gilded decks out there. If you're going to attempt it, make sure you get the right glue and use the cheapest metal leaf you can find - or make your own, if you want to pound some aluminum foil with a large mallet for a while... Don't use the good stuff until you know you have the process down and can do it well.
