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Do you love the elegant touch of gold paint? Have you ever tried liquid gold leaf? If you haven’t then you are in for a treat! Have you wondered what is liquid gold leaf? Well, it’s a one-step, metallic gold paint that adds a romantic elegant touch to your DIY project. This metallic luster finish can be added to your small DIY projects or to your larger painted furniture makeovers. 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links for your convenience and I may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Click here for my full disclosure policy. 

How to Apply Liquid Gold Leaf to Painted Furniture

Unfinished Large Ornate Mirror

This oversized ornate vintage mirror is part of a set. It arrived in the shop along with a tall dresser for a makeover. Initially, the mirror makeover was going to match the dresser but a last minute decision took things in a different direction. You know how that goes. You can find the tall dresser makeover in distressed white here: White Distressed Painted Dresser. Normally I would prop a large mirror up on my sawhorse to work on, but I recently bought this handy cart and it works as well. A plus to the cart is that it’s on wheels, so I’m able to move the mirror to work on it as needed. The sawhorse doesn’t allow the kind of mobility. 

If you take a closer look you will see how dirty this mirror is. We certainly can’t apply the liquid gold leaf paint or any kind of paint over this dirt.

Cleaning an Ornate Vintage Mirror for Gold Leaf Painting

The mirror must be thoroughly cleaned and prepped. This is how I normally Clean and Prep Painted Furniture. But this mirror needs a bit more.

In addition to my standard cleaning process, I also decided to use a scrub brush to get into the crevices and detail areas of the mirror. 

Here is the mirror after a good cleaning. Never apply paint over a dirty surface. YUCK 

Protecting the Mirror from Paint

The next step to painting this mirror frame is to cover and protect the mirror itself. First I place index cards in between the frame and the mirror along the perimeter. This may not always be possible, so you can always check out different methods for painting a mirror frame here: How to Paint a Mirror Frame

Tape down the cards to prevent movement and then cover the remainder of the mirror with brown paper. I keep a large roll in my shop for projects like this. If you are looking for this brown paper, you can find it (HERE).

If you are just starting out you can always start at the beginning with How to Paint Furniture – a Beginners Guide.

 Preparing a Mirror for Gold Leaf Paint

Next, grab your primer. Considering the condition of the mirror before the cleaning, I’ve decided to prime this before painting as an added precaution. I don’t always use primer when painting furniture, but often do use it when painting something white. You can find more projects where primer is used here: Primer. Due to the ornate details of the mirror, spray primer is the best choice. This is the primer that I’m using (here).

Since the mirror is elevated on the cart, I’m using a random piece of wood to keep the spray primer from going everywhere. This is my attempt to contain the mess. 

Make sure that you spray the mirror frame on both the top area and the sides. 

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Painting an Ornate Mirror Before Applying Liquid Gold Paint

Next, you want to paint your mirror with a base paint color. You can find great quality furniture paint online HERE. An added bonus, when painting furniture, you want to make sure to use a quality non-toxic furniture paint. 

After applying an off white base color I want to give the finish a subtle metallic gold glaze over the entire surface of the mirror.

I like to scoop my paint into a separate cup, then apply with a brush over the entire surface of the mirror for a subtle gold glaze. 

You can see the subtle metallic gold glaze here. 

How to Apply Gold Leaf

Now on to the fun part! Gold leaf painting! Our mirror has been cleaned, primed, painted and glazed. Now we can apply the liquid gold leaf paint. The raised details on the mirror will be receiving a glamorous metallic gold paint finish to highlight those areas. This liquid gold leaf is amazing. It’s a one-step liquid leaf paint with amazing coverage.

If you have never used liquid gold leaf before and are unsure as to how to apply gold leaf this should come as a pleasant surprise. It’s super easy! Use a small artist brush to apply the liquid leaf paint. Of all the small brushes that I use, cosmetic brushes are my favorite: HERE.

Here is a quick video to see how to use gold leaf paint and how nicely the liquid gold leaf paint looks as it’s applied.

I should tell you that I am not affiliated with this product and I am NOT being compensated by the company. I just really love how easy it is to use and how nice it looks. So if you would like to know where to buy gold leaf paint you can find it (HERE). 

Ok, ok, I’m done raving about this product. 😛

Ornate Vintage Mirror Painted with Liquid Leaf Paint

You can try using gold leaf sheets like on this small accent table, but I can assure you that I won’t be messing with the messy sheets of gold leaf now that I have discovered this liquid gold leaf paint. The great thing about liquid gold leaf is that you can easily apply it to wood, like on these DIY gold leaf coasters. But for now, this pretty mirror is heading home.

I had a little helper in photographing this gold leaf painted mirror. I suppose she is perfect to show how large the mirror is 🙂

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If you like this post then you will also enjoy this Pewter Painted Mirror Makeover. Better yet, make sure to check out all the other projects using metallic paint: Metallic Makeovers Also make sure to check out all of the tips & secrets that I wish someone told me when I started painting furniture here: Painting Furniture Secrets  

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