Leafing a frame involves many steps:
  1. Start with raw, milled wood
  2. Chop & join the corners
  3. Sand
  4. Apply rabbit skin size
  5. Apply gesso (four coats)
  6. More sanding
  7. Apply clay bole (five coats)
  8. Still more sanding
  9. Burnishning
  10. Apply leaf
  11. More burnishing
  12. Rubbing down the leaf to expose the bole
  13. Finishing
  14. Sealing
View a QuickTime movie demonstration of the creation of a silver-leaf frame