The Framers Forum

Hi All,
I've been asked for a very wide white/shabby chic moulding for a particular job (although I haven't seen the item to be framed yet). As I can't quite find what I'm looking for I'm going to experiment joining some bare wood frames together and then hand-finish. Grateful for any advice on the best way to finish in order to achieve the shabby chic look - mainly white with some texture/discolouration coming through. i'm guessing using a colour first (not sure which), and then using a white paint(?) over the top and then some rubbing down?

Many thanks for any assistance!

That's pretty much the idea Julia.

Grab a bit of wood and any paint you have lying around. Start with a complete coat and then apply different colours in a haphazard fashion. Even splash patches and spots on.

You can distress the wood in-between coats by attacking it with a wire brush or add a few dings and scratches. Finish off with a coat of white for the weathered look, and then get some clear wax on some coarse wirewool and give it a good scrubbing. Finish with a buffing with a soft duster.

Getting just the look you want might take a bit of experimentation. Best not to think about it too much. Just dive in.

Great advice from Prospero, but don't forgot to also jot down what you do on each stage otherwise you will get a perfect finish and then have forgotten exactly how you produced it!

That's half the fun!

That's great thanks! I guess painter's acrylic paint is ok to use, as I have lots of different colours of those?

Various ways to age mouldings to get a shabby chic look - one i like is to use a blow torch on a barewood pine - you can use a wire brush to bring out the grain before - or after burning. liming wax applied to the burnt finish can give a nice aged look. painting bare wood and then applying a 2 coat crackle finish - with a wash of a contrasty colour to bring out the crackle can also give you a nice shabby chic finish.

markw wrote:one i like is to use a blow torch on a barewood pine

Blow torch finishes rock! Ever so easy to do, and the scorched wood looks different to the surounding wood when a wash is applied, due to changes in the surface absorption.

One technique that is a lot of fun is to use a thick coat of paint and blast it with a heat gun while it's wet. The paint blisters into little bubbles. when it's dry, pop all the bubbles and you are left with a nicely pitted surface. You can repeat this as much as you like on subsequent coats. Go over it with a dilute wash and then wax. A few scratches and dings add to the effect. A heavy-bodied paint is best for this (Wickes ripple?)

Not so much shabby as scabby.