Aluminium

Another old work example, a box frame finished in aluminium leaf.

Frame Cut Down

The frame from the previous post after it has been cut down. The slip is painted with Farrow and Ball paint.

Silver Frame Cut Down

This large 20th Century silver frame is being cut down to fit a smaller painting, the bevel slip fits the painting, and the silver frame is the correct size on the short dimension, but the long side will be cut down to fit.

Aluminium Leaf

Frames in Progress

The larger frames are water gilded with moon gold, the small frames are acrylic size gilded with aluminium leaf.

Oak frame with aluminium dovetail key

Oak with black wax

This oak box frame is joined together with aluminium dovetail keys, it was then given a good sand, and has been finished with a coat of black wax.

Distressed aluminium

Aluminium leaf gilding

I have gilded this frame in aluminium leaf, it has been water gilded in the same way as if any other type of leaf like 12ct white gold or 23.5ct gold had been used. Aluminium leaf, like imitation gold leaf is larger than the more expensive real gold leaf or silver leaf, so I stick two tips together to make it easy to pick up. Aluminium and imitation gold leaf (also called metal leaf, Dutch metal, or schlag leaf) can also be burnished to give a look of deep polished metal, although not quite to the same degree as real gold leaf, and imitation gold will always need to be sealed or varnished to prevent oxidation and tarnishing which will dull the burnishing. In some cases they make a good alternative to the more expensive metals.

Silver, white gold, and aluminium leaf gilding

Aluminium and painted

6 frames

These six frames have been gilded in aluminium leaf, with an acrylic gold size. The flat panel and sides are painted and then will have a slightly distressed paint finish.

New samples

I've been meaning to make these samples for ages, I had to change the router bit on the dovetail jointing machine (Hoffmann) today for the big neoclassical frame moulding. There are 3 sizes of router bit and the keys are made from plastic, although the middle size also has some keys available in oak, beech, ash, and aluminium which can be used for some decorative effects.

Usually the key is only seen from the back, but with these I routed the dovetail all the way through the moulding, from the top we have:
ash frame, oak key, with liming wax

oak frame, aluminium key, with black wax

oak frame, ash key, with Harrell's antique wax

oak frame, beech key, with finishing oil

More float mounting!

This mixed media work on aluminium is float mounted in a 12ct white gold box frame. I've spent some time trying out different methods of float mounting these aluminium panels. This method uses an aluminium channel which is bolted through the 3mm mountboard and 3mm back. The artwork is fixed with a specialist acrylic foam tape which is designed specifically for bonding aluminium to aluminium.

Charlie Calder-Potts

This big (80cm x 120cm), mixed media on aluminium is float mounted, glazed with ArtGlass anti reflective glass, and framed in a painted frame. The stunning painting is by Charlie Calder-Potts: http://charlie-calderpotts.com/index.html

Finished silk framing