Flakes & Schabin
Flakes & Schabin are specialty formats of genuine metal leaf designed to create textured, irregular, or layered gilded finishes. Unlike traditional square leaves used for uniform coverage, these forms offer a more organic appearance, making them popular for decorative surfaces, restoration work, and expressive artistic applications.
Flakes consist of small, irregular fragments of imitation metal leaf that are scattered or layered onto a prepared surface. When applied, the individual pieces overlap naturally, catching light at different angles and producing a lively metallic surface with natural variation and depth. This format is especially useful when a broken, antiqued, or highly textured appearance is desired.
Schabin refers to larger, irregular fragments of metal leaf that fall between full sheets and fine flakes in size. These pieces retain more of the character of traditional leaf, allowing the artist or gilder to create layered metallic surfaces while maintaining strong reflective highlights.
Sepp Leaf Products offers flakes and schabin made from imitation metal leaf, typically produced from copper-based alloys that replicate the appearance of precious metals such as gold. Because of the copper content, imitation metal flakes and schabin will naturally oxidize and tarnish over time if left unsealed.
Imitation Metal Flakes & Schabin are ideal for:
• Textured decorative finishes
• Contemporary and mixed-media artwork
• Antiqued or distressed metallic effects
• Furniture and object embellishment
• Backgrounds and layered metallic surfaces
• Decorative restoration work
To preserve the desired color and finish, imitation metal flakes and schabin should be sealed with an appropriate protective topcoat after application. Without a sealer, the metal will gradually tarnish due to exposure to air and environmental conditions.
Like all metal leaf products, flakes and schabin should be handled with clean, dry tools and stored in stable environmental conditions to maintain their quality prior to use.
When properly applied and sealed, Imitation Metal Flakes & Schabin provide a versatile and expressive way to introduce texture, variation, and shimmering metallic highlights into decorative and artistic surfaces.
