Moulding search

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Framing Frenzie
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Moulding search

Post by Framing Frenzie »

Hi, just wondered if anyone recognises this moulding please
28DFA86C-33E3-4385-9514-43E9600C607B.jpeg
56E3CB53-62AA-45C4-BE7B-E48275F786CE.jpeg
. The joy of “can you copy this” came in.
Frame-Abel, Bespoke Picture Framing, York, North Yorkshire
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pramsay13
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Re: Moulding search

Post by pramsay13 »

Looks like an ash moulding that has been stained walnut or dark oak.

Centrado do one 0066AS that is 15mm x 31mm.
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Re: Moulding search

Post by Not your average framer »

It an Ash moulding. Without knowing the dimensions of this moulding, it is not easy to figure out where it came from, or what the moulding reference is going to be. I'm not a very big fan of Ash, the grain is rarely all that consistent along a single length of moulding. Also to get a really natural looking stained result requires quite a bit of careful preparation, as Ash tends to have an unnaturally high level of contrast between the light and dark parts of the wood grain unless you provide some degree of grain sealing before the wood is stained. The furniture manufacturing industry tend to understand this, much more than many framers do. The answer is quite simple. Initially seal the wood with a couple of coats of a light coloured french polish, followed by a mixture of a darker french polish tinted with a suitable spirit based stain, if you are wanting a darker finish. I usually following this with a coat of wax and finally a coat of Polyvine dead flat acrylic varnish, as this is a very tough and durable finish and will provide an excellent level of protection for the underlying layer of french polish and stain.

When applying the Polyvine acrylic wax finish varnish over wax, I apply heat to set the varnish and also the melt the underlying layer of wax, which strongly locks both finishes together. Wax has been used as a strong adhesive medium since time a very long time ago, possibily thousands of years age and it works well doing things like this. The solvent in waxes like black bison wax will attack the acrylic polymer is the Polyvine wax finish acrylic varnish and allow a molecular bond to be created between the wax and the acrylic varnish. For myself, I generally buy much more of an ash moulding that I actually need for a frame, so that I can select pieces of moulding where the grain produces a reasonable degree of consistency for the frame that I am making. If this is a moulding which you use on a regular basis, the different areas of grain within the various moulding lengths, will enable you to obtain a reasonable degree of consistency across many frames. I rarely use Ash these days, as I prefer Oak and Oak requires less difficulty in producing frames.

When I was using Ash on a much more regular basis, any left over bits which did not readily match, were turned into distressed driftwood mouldings and made in to ready made frames. I still do this with left over pieces of Oak and Pine mouldings and these are quite popular as rustic frames which are popular with owners of the many old cottages and barn conversions around my part of rural Devon. In general these frames are not particularly large as they are using up smaller pieces of moulding and left over off cuts of glass and backing board. The availability of usable moulding left over off cuts is a bit variable and sometimes customers come in asking for these frames, when I have not got any. I price these to sell reasonably well and don't usually experience any difficulty selling them. Generally they are finished with a mixture of chalking emusion from match pots and acrylic paint, with a mixture of darker pigmented waxes lightly brushed in to the distressed wood grain.

I'm generally aiming for an aged slightly grubby look, which is not much like the usually factory finished driftwood type finishes that are available from most suppliers. The normally "off the shelf" driftwood mouldings do sell as well, buy they to be refinished in this manky aged rustic style. I am not by the sea, so it the rustic country cottage style that works for where I am situated. I am only operating from a small shop in a small rural Devon town and I consequently need to adjust what I sell to suit what sells well locally. Nearly all my stock of mouldings is unfinished bare wood mouldings and hand finishing, plus stacked moulding frames are a significant part of my business. By my own admission, both myself and my little shop are somewhat different to many other shops and survival is largely based on persuing a niche oriented market, with margins to match.
Mark Lacey

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Framing Frenzie
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Re: Moulding search

Post by Framing Frenzie »

Thank you so much for your replies.
I don’t get involved with hand finishing frames but my work neighbour is a french polisher so I’ll ask him to take a look if the customer wants to go down that route.
Have a good week.
Frame-Abel, Bespoke Picture Framing, York, North Yorkshire
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pramsay13
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Re: Moulding search

Post by pramsay13 »

This is a perfect time to start hand finishing.
You can get wood dye and apply it with a cloth or sponge.
Let it dry and apply another coat.
Let it dry and apply wax.
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Re: Moulding search

Post by Framing Frenzie »

I've done a bit but it's not for me. Thanks for the encouragement though.
Take care.
Frame-Abel, Bespoke Picture Framing, York, North Yorkshire
http://www.bespokepictureframers.com/
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