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@melka
It's not really gilding.
On the dropout, I'm heating the metal to cherry red and using a flux coated bronze (or brass, not 100% sure) brazing rod. When it starts to flow, I wipe it with a cotton rag to help even the deposition and then quench it in water.
For the 4 little lines, I scored marks approximately 1mm deep with a saw (not sure it needs to be this deep) and did the same as above, followed by filing and sanding to go back to steel outside of the "inserts".
What I gathered is that the surface deposition is a tricky business and that it's really difficult to make a nice thin layer of brass, so the part underneath loses a lot of details. The best way might be to do some plating or even traditional gilding with real or imitation gold leaf (lots of colors available nowadays), followed by some 2K clear coat.
For the inserts, this technic might work because you don't really need control the thickness or placement, just get sure that the cavities are full and then sand the surplus away.
Nice simple geometric designs can be done with a simple hand saw, but more complexe ones might be made using either a dremel or a chemical etch of the steel (salt water or vinegar for the cheap safe stuff; hydrochloric, sulfuric or nitric acid for the wannabe chemist that I am).
On this piece I tried some heat coloring but oxy-acetylene is a bit too hot and I can't control the color, not evenly.
All those tests might not be on the yet-unknown frame, but I think I'd like to go with some small brass inserts on parkerized brushed steel with a 2K clear coat, not sure if I want matte or glossy. I might change my mind and just paint it with a flat color.