That does look nice! Mine always look dusty, too - and so do the undersides of all my cast iron machines. Maybe it would work for that, too!
You can use Krylon Gold Leaf pens to paint the designs with the gold details - they're easy to use and as long as you get the cap back on tight, you can open it and re-start it many times.
I plan to use one coat of the copper color and then a coat or two of gold over that - that will give you a nice aged gold instead of the bright brassy gold that you get from gold alone. But try it and see which way you like it best.
There are pictures of the Krylon and Posh Impressions brands of these leafing pens here:
http://polymerclayexpress.com/pens.html Either one would be fine.