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Edgar JerinsThey did a GOLD leaf restoration on the Statue of Liberty for those people that are very upset about GOLD on statues!!!The restoration in 1984-1986 was the most extensive in the Statue's history. Built for the centennial, crews replaced the rusted internal iron armature with stainless steel, repaired the copper skin, and addressed a century of water damage.The biggest symbolic change was the torch. The original 1886 torch had been cut up and fitted with glass windows and lights, which leaked and corroded badly. It was deemed beyond repair and replaced with an exact replica of Bartholdi's original solid-flame design. The most extensive restoration took place from 1984 to 1986, in preparation for the statue's centennial celebration, during this restoration the statue's torch was replaced with a new copper torch covered in 24k gold leaf. The current torch has a copper flame covered in 24K gold, made by meticulously applying incredibly thin sheets of 24-karat gold leaf just a few millionths of an inch thick. It reflects sunlight by day and is lit by floodlights at night — the original torch is now in the Statue of Liberty Museum.