Gold Leafing is one of the most beautiful and realistic finishes to real gold. Metallic Spray paint doesn't compare to the luster that gold leaf can give to a piece of furniture, picture frame or chair. When I started out gold leafing, I found it quite frustrating, time consuming and costly that I didn't enjoy it much. After only a couple projects I threw it aside and went back to spray painting again. I picked it up again after several months, and tried a new product, and it was so much easier, that if I need a leafing project done, it is usually done quickly.
(A Piero Fornasetti Umbrella Stand Seller Eric Appel LLC Antiques)
French Sofa Picture Credit Indeed Stock
Simple Leaf Leafing Sheets 5.5''x5.5''-Gold
Here is the product difference. Mona Lisa Leaf has a brand called "Simple Leaf" where the sheets are the same micro-thin sheets that you would get in other brands except the leaf sheets are bonded to wax paper. I find that once my item is sprayed, and and the glue has set and is ready to bond, that I use a paint brush on the wax side of the leaf. It is a forceful way of getting the leaf into the hard to get ornate details of my chair or picture frame.
In the past, I would waste a lot of gold leaf, where as with the wax, I am able to use up pretty much the entire leaf without waste. With other brands, you are always trying to collect the fly-away scraps of leaf, where as the excess leaf will remain on the wax paper for future use! Leaf is composed of copper and zinc, and will tarnish with age if not sealed.
If you want a fast inexpensive way of gold finishing try the Rost-oleum Bright Reflective spray paint. I use it as an undercoat to all my gold leafing. I am inspired by paint finishes, and if you are into painting please check out my paintedfurnitureonline for more painted projects.
Gold Leaf French Antiques
Gold Leaf Vogue Magazine 
Photo Credit - Camaryn Wallpaper
The Gilded Room: Decorating with Metallic Effects, from Metal Leaf to Powders, Pastes and Paints
One finish that perplexed me for the longest time is how to achieve an antique finish like the Urn pictured above, until I started experimenting with oil finishes. To achieve this look, I often take a brush and dip it in black oil paint, and then wipe off the entire brush well, leaving vertually no paint on the brush. Then, as you brushing it over the gold, it will leave lines like the urn in the picture. You can use a dark red oil paint, as well as brown oil paint for a antique look following the same technique. It is just another way of adding depth.
This look is achieved by leafing and adding the sand colored paint after. (You can also mix in find sand with your paint as well ) How this is achieved is you leaf your item, and then you paint the furniture with latex paint, and wipe it off using a damp rag. You can also paint the item first, and then leaf only in the areas you want to highlight afterwards. Sometimes painting over leaf can produce an antique finish, because as you wipe off the paint (latex) the paint will stick to the glue that is unsean on the piece, creating a slight crackle look. 
GOLD and Dark Gray. Obviously an antique, but you can achieve this look by simply adding paint, and then removing it with a cloth. Do not use oil paint, it ruins the gold leaf. 
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