The Framers Forum

Does anyone have any ideas on how this finish (see photo) can be achieved? I need to tone down the side walls of a frame and thought that this technique looked good (and timeless)
Grateful for any tips.
Ben

There are various ways of obtaining such a finish and different framers will have their own preferred methods. The finish is loosely referred to as a cracked gesso finish which as a term covers a variety of different manifestations are the exact formulation that you use, together with the conditions under which the finish sets, will determine the size and spacing of the cracks.

Needless to say, the finish originally was produced using real gesso, either by applying gesso to a roll of fabric which is the rolled up to crack the dried gesso, or by adding starch to the gesso so that the finish sets from the outside, while remaining not set below, which causes the outside of the finish as a result of the finish not setting evenly produces the cracked finish. Producing such finishes has some degree of variability.

I don't do this finish using real gesso, but using a chalky paint with added starch. I'm not one who does this to exact proportions, but just stir in the starch and until it feels about right. I don't find that I have much control over how the cracks and the spacing of the cracks will turn out and sadly, I have got it wrong sometimes.

I prime the surface of the wood before attempting this sort of finish, the prevent the absorption of the fluid in the finish and therefore the premature drying of the underlying part of the finish, I don't know if this is necessary, or not. I hope no one thinks that I'm an expert on this sort of finish, because I am not, I've merely heard a bit about it and decided to experiment.

There's not a massive demand for this sort of finish, these days and waiting for the finish to fully set involves a bit of guess work too. I've used ordinary plain flour to make the starch and cooked it a bit to make it thicken up a bit. Sorry to tell you this, but if there is a correct technique for doing this, I've been just doing my own thing and don't know what would be the authentic method.

Something appears to have been rubbed into the cracks to act as a highlighting medium, it might be neutral coloured wax and then lightly rubbed over with rottenstone, probably after the surplus wax has been wiped off and left to set. It's one of those things that needs to be experimented with. The fly specks are just flicked on from a distance.

You can do that with the cracking mechanism of Titebond Hide glue. I've posted this link before but here it is again -
http://www.titebond.com/_site/community/Crackling.aspx
They say to use vinyl paints but I have used it with W&N Galleria acrylics and it works. I say use Galleria paints because, being cheap they break apart and separate better. The Titebond is very viscous and will need to be warmed and very slightly diluted.
After that I would scumble on a few earth shades - burnt sienna and raw umber student oils in boiled linseed oil/ turpentine and driers. Splatter on some darker bits and finish over with thin shellac.

Or you could try Mark's idea. That seems quite interesting to add starch to gesso. I've not tried that yet so that's something to brighten up the day.

I like the sound of the hide glue method, this could be quite interesting to try. I would add that the cracked gesso method, usually produces fairly deep cracks, if you get the mixture right. However, if you don't need the depth of cracks, then the hide glue method is likely to be much quicker to use.

BTW, I like the effect / finish shown in the photos.

Must try that Titebond method.......

Not the same result, but similar is to use a heavy basecoat of the old ripple paint and mess around with it while it is
wet. If you blast it with a hot air gun you'll get bubbles and blisters. Wait for it to dry and pop the bubbles and give it
a good sanding - generally knock it about a bit. Then apply a coat of a thin, mucky brown. Raw Umber is the best. Finish
off with some dark wax applied on fine steel wool and buff it a bit with a duster.

Sounds interesting Peter. Do you have a picture of something you've done like that.

I have, but at the moment the frame is stuck behind a lot of stuff.....

Thanks guys. You are very generous with your help. Very kind indeed. I like the idea of a blow torch very much - all 3 ideas are crackers - apols.

There are some quite interesting vids on YouTube that demonstrate weird paint techniques. Worth a browse.....

Yes, I saw one where the guy burnt up the surface of the wood with a blowtorch...braver man than me!

Thanks for the Titebond tip, VF,....I'm going to order some now and have a go.

That blowtorch technique is a bit extreme. Originates in Japan. Not really what I was harking to. I meant a gun for
stripping paint - sort of heavy duty hair dryer. The idea is to blister the wet paint without scorching it too much.

Not really relevant to the OP, but worth a look. It would make some great frames.

Although the full blow blow torch treatment is perhaps a little extreme for some of us and that would include myself for ashematic reasons and intense smoke making me feel a bit unwell, you can produce an interesting effect by slightly charring the surface of an Obeche moulding with an electric hot air paint stripping gun and perhaps combining this with a dilute wash as well.

However I would add that not all of these guns seem to produce the same degree of temperature, or the same ferrocity of air flow. I don't know what brands, or models are the best ones to buy, but I bought a few over the years, which have been somewhat disapointing.