MECHANICAL GILDING embraces all the operations by which gold-leaf is prepared (see GOLD-BEATING), and the several processes by which it is mechanically attached to the surfaces it is intended to cowe•. It thus embraces the burnish or water-gilding and the oil-gilding of the carver and gilder, and the gilding operations of the house decorator, the sign-painter, the bookbinder, the paper-stainer, and several others. Polished iron, steel, and other metals are gilt mechanically by applying gold-leaf to the metallic surface at a temperature just under red-heat, pressing the leaf on with a burnisher, and reheating, when additional leaf may be laid on. The process is completed by cold burnishing.