12ct distressed finish

This frame has 12ct white gold water gilding with a distressed paint and waxy finish.

Oak frame with aluminium dovetail key

Custom oak profile

This oak frame profile was machined to order, it is based on an early 20th Century original example frame.

Simple oak finish

These photos show the various stages in a simple stained oak finish. My method is to cut and join the frame first, I then give it a very good sand to remove any machine cutting marks, round the edges, and make the mitres nice and flush. I then apply a coat of water based stain. Some people stain the lengths first before joining, but I prefer to stain after joining so I can get the corners perfect, especially with oak which can sometimes be a little tricky to join together. I don't find any problems with stain brush marks or overlaps at the corners. The next stage is a coat of shellac sanding sealer, this is given a rub over with 0000 wire wool, then a coat of medium brown wax, lastly the frame is given a good polish.

Step-by-step photos, taken on my phone which is not the best camera.

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.

Dark finish on Austin Moseley RBSA

This oil painting on panel is by Austin Moseley RBSA, and is for the John Noott Galleries in Broadway, where you can buy original works, and exclusive limited edition prints by Austin.
The wide scoop shaped frame has now been finished, it was seen a couple posts ago with some red Plaka paint on the inner and outer edges. These were gilded in metal leaf and the whole frame was then given a dark wax finish over paint washes.

Last few jobs

Here are a few of the frames that have been finished off this week, some of our typical gilded and painted frames, and a stained and waxed frame. The three gilded frames are all the same moulding profile, just with different sections gilded or not gilded.

Distressed frame finish

This frame has water gilding over red bole in 12ct white gold on the sight edge and outer part of the profile, the whole frame is then finished with a heavily distressed paint and wax finish.

Wood and gold

These frames are parcel gilt. This is the old fashioned description of gilding combined with natural wood, or something that is part gilding and part some other type of finish. So the inner and outer sections are water gilded in 23.5ct gold, and the middle scoop is stained and waxed.