Artists very skilled at watercolor are typically the ones who produce fore-edged paintings. Painters fan the fore-edge of the outer edge and clamp it to the board. Printers use clamping so that everything is held tightly in place during printing. Then, the painter paints on the fanned leaves with watercolors before letting the leaves take their normal position and placing the book on the press. Then, printers add gold that is pounded into very thin pieces called leaves. This process is called gilding.
Some artists tie the fanned out edges between boards. Then, the artist paint the scene on the fanned pages with watercolors. When dry, the paint is gilt. The earliest fore-edge painting projects used monochrome, while later works used more colors. Older fore-edge paintings are more vibrant since watercolors were thicker. Newer watercolors are translucent, and you can see brush strokes. Painters have used increasingly more watery paints, which bleed into the page.
Artists sometimes produce the painting under gilding by cutting in boards the fore-edge of the book with a plough, a device designed to make grooves. This gives the edge a smooth surface to paint on. The artist then clamps the pages between wooden boards. When painting, the artist must hold the brush at a right angle to make sure the paint remains on the surface. The artist must not use paint too thin or the colors will run. The painter waits for the paint to dry, removes the clamp and sends the book through the gilding press. The artist polishes the painted edge. Normal books might have gilt edges for decoration, but fore-edge paintings need gilt edges for preservation.
Painters used thick gilding to cover fore-edge paintings and protect them. Newer fore-edged paintings often have a border.The gilding process involves red chalk and black lead ground up and mixed with water. Then, painters add muriatic acid to the mixture. Before applying the mixture, the binder must smooth out the fore-edge. The binder uses a broad, flat camelhair pencil or piece of sponge to coat the edges with the mixture. Then, the binder cuts the gold leaf and places it on the surface. When dry, the binder polishes the edges.