I'm going to try my hand at gilding and bought a book over at Amazon that is, IMHO, a real gem. _Restoration Recipes_ by Bain et.al. I got my copy for $4.75 but I just checked and there is one there for less than $4. The book originally had a price of $19.99 and a pub date of 1999. It has detailed info on repairing, cleaning and refinishing furniture and a really excellent section about repairing damaged veneer. Also, lots of other good stuff relating to wood and furniture. Just thought I would pass this on for what it's worth.. Larry