Coating Painted Frame For Tack Free?

[Foresty_Forest]

Have tried painting some frames with Farrow & Ball. I'm happy with the finish and colour, but the paint can feel slightly tacky when dried. Which worries me when wrapped and sent in the post. Is there a varnish or other coating that will both protect and leave the frame tack free?

Thanks

[Not your average framer]

I would suggest that you try Polyvine Acrylic wax finish dead flat varnish. Truly matt finishes are almost never tacky at all. The most common way of making most paints in to a matt finish is to add coloidial silica, which is essentially very finely ground silica, which adds a lot of extra durability to the paint as well, while also producing a tack free finish. It's just perfect for items needing a tough finish for being sent by post! Silica is what grains of sand are made of and it just as hard and tough as the grains of sand, Acrylic resin is a lot less tough, but it acquires extraordinary toughness, when the coloidial silica is added to it.

[David McCormack]

Have you been using the F&B test pots or are you talking about an eggshell or gloss finish paint?

If the test pots then I'm very surprised you have a tacky finish as the estate emulsion is a dead flat matt and should not be tacky when dry.

I also use Polyvine to finish and protect painted frames and have never had a problem with wrapping frames, although I don't like using stuff like handy wrap or bubble wrap in direct contact with the painted frame. I usually wrap the painted frame in brown paper before using any bubble wrap etc.

[Foresty_Forest]

Yes it's eggshell - which explains the slight tack.

Thanks for the Polyvine tip - looks very good. Do you think it'll go over the eggshell ok without beading etc?

[Foresty_Forest]

I usually wrap the painted frame in brown paper before using any bubble wrap etc.

Do you use the waxy side of the paper in contact with the frame? No issues with the brown paper sticking (obviously)?

[Not your average framer]

The Polyvine seems to go over just about anything which I have tried so far.

[Foresty_Forest]

is to add coloidial silica

Do you need much of the silica?

[Not your average framer]

No it is already in the dead flat varnish! "Dead flat" means "dead matt".

[David McCormack]

Do you use the waxy side of the paper in contact with the frame? No issues with the brown paper sticking (obviously)?

I use a recycled brown paper which doesn't have a waxy side but if it did, I would use the waxy side out

The polyvine varnish I use is a bit different to the one Mark uses, I use the Decorators Varnish in the Dead Flat finish with no problems with tackiness when dry. I use it with matt test pots or acrylic paint in tubes.

[Foresty_Forest]

Great advice thanks.

But what about touching up? If a frame gets a knock or scratch, can it be touched up with the original paint (Farrow and Ball in my case). Or will the Polyvine impede touching up?

Btw. Have bought a pot of Polyvine to try straight away...

[Not your average framer]

I would give it a light sanding with fine sandpaper first just to give it a key for the touch up paint to get a good grip and re-coat with the dead matt Polyvine to restore the durable top coat. It hardly takes any time at all.

[Justintime]

I second the polyvine dead flat matt. Without it the paint will show finger prints/greasey hands. Perfect matt finish and we use it to seal the paint before waxing.

[Not your average framer]

That depends up on what colour finish is underneath the Dead flat varnish. Finger prints tend to show on darrker finishes, much more than on lighter finishes. I tend to wax most frames after they are finished, but it a bad idea to wax spacers and slip, which will be in contact with the inside face of the glass, as it can cause strange visual effects.