A question for the hand finishers...

[Trillian]

I'm just wondering how much mess you make?

No, I'm not being rude, but I'm just thinking about what I may have to consider in planning the new workshop. In my last workshop (read garage!), I didn't do a lot of hand finishing, so it wasn't too much of an issue, but with the new set-up I would like to move towards eventually doing 100% hand finished frames. So, how much dust/mess am I likely to make? I am normally a very clean and tidy worker, but obviously it's difficult to control dust, fumes, splatter etc. Ideally I guess I would need a separate area for sanding, extra storage for work in progress, storage for paints and finishing products, and possibly a paint room? And what about gilding, are there any special considerations when it comes to that? Do I need to consider anything else? At this stage I'm not thinking about routing my own profiles, but you never know...!

Phew, that's quite a lot of questions, but I hope some of you maybe able to offer some advice based on your own experience.

Ta very muchly

[Kwik Picture Framing]

One thing I would say is that I would keep your sanding workstation well away from where you do the painting - because you run the risk of dust sticking to the paint which is never a good thing! You do have to clean up really, really well between the stages.

[Geoff]

For what you plan to do, one thing you're obviously going to need is space. If you intend to spray gesso, paints, etc, then you will obviously need a separate room for that with suitable extraction and filters. If you plan to get into gilding then you must do something to minimise draft. You can of course use a gilders cushion but these have little effect in a breezy environment. I have always taken the leaf directly from the book and prefer this way, but even so, a still environment is essential. Regarding sanding woods, gesso's and the like, you might find it useful to make a shallow tray (timber) where any item can be placed and sanded without dispersing the dust everywhere. Once sanded, you can always vacume the dust collected inside the tray. I find this very useful. A finishing room or separate place for finishing is essential too. All the time spent in working up to this point can be ruined in a dust filled atmosphere. If you plan to make your own profiles then you will need a separate workplace to do this with suitable extraction. Always store paints, spirits, etc in their own area under lock and key. Just a few tips you might find useful, but there are many more.

[prospero]

Hand finishing is about 80% sandpapering. Well maybe not, but it sometimes feels that way. And yes, it is dusty. I don't get a lot of problems with dust as regards it fouling the wet paint. But I tend to work in stages - do all the prep - have a hoover and then the apply finishes.
I'm fortunate to have a separate room where I do all the mounting and assembly. These operations don't mix with slapping paint about and sanding.

You also need a certain amount of room for setting frames aside to dry. At the mo I'm doing 16 quite large frames so I have had to shut the shop so I can use the floor. This isn't really a great problem as I leave a note on the door to tell peeps to come round to the back door.
I find this is actually beneficial in some ways as it acts as a good tyre-kicker filter.

It's like most things; if you get your stall set out and have everything to hand you can work efficiently.

[Not your average framer]

I really don't like using sandpaper, or steel wool any more than I absolutely have to, as this can take up far too much valuable time and energy. I'm not as fast as I once was, so I'm into making things easier to do!

Therefore, I choose my paints and primers to ensure that I can smooth, or distress the surfaces with chemicals and solvents, which completely avoids the need to create any significant quantity of dust.

Many waterbased finishes can be thinned with water to enable finishes to be self levelling and to dry as a smooth surface

[Trillian]

Thanks peeps, that's all food for thought. I'm thinking maybe of somehow partitioning off one section to create a sanding area, but I like the idea of incorporating Geoff's suggestion of creating a table with a raised edge to create an area for the sawdust to fall into. I will also consider working with a few different ways of finishing (as per Mark's suggestion) to try to reduce the need to sand. I have looked into dust extraction systems, but am worried about noise.

Working efficiently, in stages, seems to be the way to go, makes good business sense if nothing else.

BTW, I came across these little doobries the other day:



Not really essential, as you can always cobble something together to use as a support, but it was a case of "oh, that's clever, I want some"! No doubt they've been around for years, and I've just not come across them before!

[prospero]

Four blocks of wood about 2" thick are what you need as supports. They eventually get encrusted with paint and then you can frame them and sell them as objet d'art.

[Trillian]

Turner Prize here we come!