Matt Black Finishes

[framejunkie]

Prompted by Johnny9's enquiry about a matt black frame for a canvas(in general discussion), here's my methods for matt black finishes. Maybe others could share theirs(so i can find a quicker way of doing it!)
There are a few ways of getting matt black

- Send the frame out to a local spraying place. Many cabinet makers/furniture factories use a lot of sprayed paint finishes, and some will take in jobs from outside. You may be limited to the range of paints they have unless you are willing to buy a big tub of the paint.

- Spray it yourself using car paint. The aerosol car paint i used to use comes in gloss-black; satin-black; and matt black. Can't remember the brand, and don't have any left - i don't use it any more as it uses so much solvent(cellulose thinners - nasty stuff) and i'm such an eco-fascist(eco-hypocrite, more like)

- Paint it yourself using Black Acrylic Gesso(i use Tri-Art stuff, as it seems to sand better than the others i've tried)

I offer the gesso finish in a few different variants, depending on the desired appearance and the depth of the customer's pockets
- Just painted - Acrylic sanding sealer, then 2-3 thin coats applied with a Jenny Brush(foam brush) - applied very carefully this can look ok - remember to run over very lightly with a very fine abrasive(synthetic wire wool is my preference) to take off the little lumps and give it a smoother feel. This will give the most matt finish

- Painted and sanded - This takes for ever. I also use this method for white gesso, and gesso tinted with Acrylic colour.
Apply 10-12 thin coats of black gesso(after sanding sealer), sand any proud points between coats with a fine abrasive(400 grit) - do this very gently or you'll go through the paint. When the paint film is good and thick sand all over(or just on the face of the moulding) with 400-500 grit abrasive until its totally flat. getting the technique right so you don't go through the paint was a bit of a pain for me, but worth it in the end. Maybe others are more dextrous and will pick it up quicker. This finish will give a matt appearance except when it catches the light. A clear matt lacquer over the top will give one look, but i either leave it as it is(looks very 'hand finished' on close inspection) or use a paste-wax to give a low sheen. Don't use Briwax, as the solvent in it(toluene?) dissolves the acrylic paint - i found this out the hard way after sanding a large frame for about 7 hours! Still makes me twitch to think about it!

So what do all you other hand-finishers do?

[Not your average framer]

I hate being asked to do matt black finishes. It's just a PITA!

I stain the moulding with watered down black plaka and build up the finish in thin coats. My prefered wood for this is smoothly sanded obeche, (use a nice fine abrasive paper).

Be careful not to water down the plaka too much or the pigment won't stay stuck to the wood.

It's still a real PITA!