John,
Could you post a picture of the piece you are working with? This can be a very tricky process to do right, especially if you are working with incised carving which is usually the case. Here are some suggestions:
1. The old ebonizing was usually done in black shellac. In order to recreate this you can get yourself some shellac and a small bottle of TransTint black dye at
http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/htdocs/faqs.htm. You are after a "1 1/2 to 2 pound cut", so if you use the stuff in the can that you can get a Home Depot, cut 50 / 50 with denatured alcohol, and add a little TransTint black to the shellac mix. If you are redoing a large area and don't want to fool with the effort to apply shellac properly (which can be a real bear for novices) you can mask and spray with a black satin enamel.
2. Now comes the part that will have you pulling out your hair to get right. In order to apply the gold you will need to obtain some gold paint and a small artists brush. Your selection of gold paint is critical; there are a couple of factors to consider. The first is to avoid gold paints that use a copper base to obtain the gold color, which by the way is 99% of the stuff you will find in an arts/crafts store. The reason you want to avoid these paints, is the fact they will look great at first, but will all tarnish over time in the same way that copper or bronze gets its patina. This is one case where oxidation is undesirable. You may have to mix different shades of gold in order to obtain a color that matches what you have and will blend in correctly. The second thing you need to give some serious attention to is the solvent used to remove excess and mistakes which will most certainly occur. The solvent you want must remove the gold paint, but not react with the underlying ebonized finish. Since your original finish is nearly always done in Shellac on Victorian furniture, you will want a gold enamel that can be removed with mineral spirits. Avoid gold paints that are removed with alcohol or you will damage the underlying base finish. Once you have the correct paint and solvent, the technique is to paint your incised line, then quickly grab a rag with solvent and lightly run your hand down the line to remove the excess. Using the right amount of pressure will leave the gold paint in the trough of the incised line. If you spend your time simply trying to paint the lines without the use of solvent, you will find it absolutely impossible to do as good a job as the original craftsmen no matter how steady your hand is. Believe me on this point. I spent many hours cursing and scratching my head, wondering how on earth those guys could paint such flawless and fine lines. The fact is they didn't without using some technique other than just a hand and a paintbrush.
Hope this is helpful,
Michael
