I have gilded this frame in aluminium leaf, it has been water gilded in the same way as if any other type of leaf like 12ct white gold or 23.5ct gold had been used. Aluminium leaf, like imitation gold leaf is larger than the more expensive real gold leaf or silver leaf, so I stick two tips together to make it easy to pick up. Aluminium and imitation gold leaf (also called metal leaf, Dutch metal, or schlag leaf) can also be burnished to give a look of deep polished metal, although not quite to the same degree as real gold leaf, and imitation gold will always need to be sealed or varnished to prevent oxidation and tarnishing which will dull the burnishing. In some cases they make a good alternative to the more expensive metals.
