Mordan

Mordan is an adhesive mixture for gold leafing on a natural basis (resins and oils). Until 1917, in Russia under the Mordan was understood the whole variety of oil varnishes. Used as an adhesive base for leaf coverings ( gold leaf , silver leaf or potal ). It is applied to a prepared, even and smooth surface. Apply a layer thinly, without smudges. Gilding when it dries to a small "tack", which is checked with a finger. In the wall paintings, instead of it, often used condensed, to the state of liquid honey, linseed oil or drying oil tinted, for the tone, with pigments. Previously, the mordan had a long drying time, which was inconvenient for gilding . To achieve the desired finish, the gilder had to wait a week to dry. The modern Mordan prepared according to GOST comes to a state of tack approximately 12 hours (depending on the layer thickness, temperature and humidity of the environment). Often, the traditional material of Mordan is confused with mixtions - water (0.25 - 1 hour before the tack), alcohol (0.5 hours before the tack) and synthetic oil (1-12 hours before the tack) glue for gilding.