Chapter XXX How to Make the Wax for Gilding
Take five ounces of new wax, half an ounce of red chalk (that is to say, red stone chalk for drawing184), half an ounce of Roman vitriol,185 three pennyweights186 of feretto di spagna,187 that is of the weight of a ducat, or one-eighth of an ounce, or it may be a bit less, half an ounce of verdigris, & three pennyweights of borax. Mix all these things together and melt them with the wax, & apply them as above described. After this, when the wax is cleaned off, you can give it the colouring that follows hereunder.
Footnotes
184 Lapis rosso da disegnare; French, ‘sanguine.’
185 Vitriouolo romano: sulphate of iron.
186 Denari.
187 Possibly calcined sulphate of iron; French, ‘ferret.’