Might be a dumb question, what is gold guilting actually on buttons?

hey was currious still trying to understand button manufacture, and was wondering about gold guilting was this just a decorative thing they did? or was it real gold or what? just trying to understand the purpose of it?

just decorative!...................

"The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, it was traditionally usually silver in the West, to make silver-gilt (or "vermeil") objects, but gilt-bronze is much used in China, and also called ormolu if it is Western. Methods of gilding include hand application and glueing, chemical gilding, and electroplating, the last also called gold plating.[1] Parcel-gilt (partial gilt) objects are only gilded over part of their surfaces. This may mean that all of the inside, and none of the outside, of a chalice or similar vessel is gilded, or that patterns or images are made up by using a combination of gilt and un-gilt areas."

chuck.

Here’s a website that also explains the gilding process.

[en.wikipedia.org]

Detecting since Feb, 2010
E-trac with 18"x15" SEF, 13" Ultimate coil, Pro coil, Minelab 8" coil, 4.5"x7" SEF, Sunray target probe
CTX3030 with 17"x13" DD coil, 11" DD coil

I have several Civil War buttons that still shows hints of gold gilding. I am not sure what they used. I am anxious to hear some more replies. The gilding that remains on these brass buttons doesn't brush off too easily (NOT that I tried). But in the normal process of using a light bristled toothbrush and warm water with a squirt od Dawn, the gilding held fast.

hey everyone thanks for the comebacks!

i once found an 18th cent gilt livery button and it was in fine condition as it came from Londons river thames so had been under water since lost ,the gilt was better than you see on a picture frame and was quite shiny .the rest was made of brass .

Hi Brandon,
Nice to see you posting more again! Maybe I nodded off but it seems like you've been quiet for a year or so. Anyway, it always good to read your stuff!
Tom

Past(or)Tom
Using a Legend, a Deus 2, an Equinox 800, a Tarsacci MDT 8000, & a few others...
with my beloved, fading Corgi, Sadie

well ive been buisy this year and hunting hard with these deep tech machines and have linked up with a friend of mine thats got polaris ranger and we hit the old stage coach roads

I use to go;d gilt mirrors a few years ago and we used sheets of very thin gold, gold was cheap then , but our boss watch us like a hawk when we did it, here a web site about gilding buttons [www.thebuttonmonger.com]