When scraping, the press should lie flat on the table edge, the other end being supported by the press-jack. In scraping, the blade is held in both hands, scraping away from the worker, the scraper sloping forwards. The press must be made immovable. Scraping is continued until all places have been gone over and the whole is perfectly smooth and even. When this is accomplished, the edges are thinly coated with paste, which is well rubbed in along the sheets with a bundle of waste paper until the edges look as if burnished. It is advisable to damp the edges before scraping, as the blade then takes hold more uniformly.

Then bolus is mixed with glair as a body color, laid on sparingly, very evenly, and free from streakiness, using a thick hair brush for the purpose. Bolus is sold to the trade ready prepared under the name" Poliment." Some time before using, it should be scraped into a suitable vessel and mixed with glair. The latter is prepared by adding the white of an egg to 1/4-litre of water and beating to a froth. It is then strained through a piece of linen or, better, through a filtering paper.

After the bolus ground has dried (which takes a few minutes) the gold is laid on. There are various methods of doing this. The surest and quickest way is to lay it on with the gilder's tip.

A row of long badger hairs is glued between two pieces of cardboard; this is drawn a few times over the hair of the head, which makes it take the gold easily. Gilders' tips are to be had at any color dealer's. Gold is taken from the gold book, laid upon the gold cushion, and cut into suitable strips with the gold knife. The gold cushion consists of a piece of calf stretched raw side out on a board. Between the leather and the board there is placed a pad of cotton wool, and over the wool a pad of blotting-paper. The gold knife is a thin, pliant, two edged knife without a sharp edge, III fact it is better to blunt the fore edge from time to time by rubbing it on polished steel. If the knife is too sharp it will cut the leather cushion. Taking the gold from the book will not be found a very easy task. The top leaf covering the gold is turned back, the book with the uncovered leaf of gold lay on the cushion, and the book slowly lifted up. The gold leaf remains flat upon the cushion and may be cut with the knife Its required. If a draught has turned the gold leaf over or made it lie unevenly, it may be righted by lightly tapping with the knife on the cushion near the gold; careful breathing on the centre of the leaf will help in more awkward cases the rest must be learned by practice. Never attempt to take hold of gold leaf with the fingers; only the experienced workman knows how to carry gold leaf with a finger.

For gilding the edges the deep red gold is always used, or else the so called orange gold, which is somewhat lighter in tone, but never the lemon or green gold.
For flat gilt edges the gold is cut about 3 mm. wider than the book and into as many strips as would make up the length of the edge if joined together.

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