Fine
Furniture Finishing

Fine Furniture Finishing Newsletter, Issue 9 This issue's topic: Really beat-up and not stinky (?). **************** First, some comments on the last Issue, from reader Cathy Morgan: "Dear David, Thanks for your informative newsletter. I enjoy it a lot and printed out the instructions for the ver de gris finish. I do have one quibble. The last one implies that while you need to run a window fan while using solvent based finished, you don't need to run one when using water based. I agree that you don't need as much ventilation to use acrylics, but I believe that general ventilation is important. I've been studying a lot of msds (Material Safety Data Sheets) on waterbased finishes, including reading the research on the chemicals used. It left no doubt in my mind that general ventilation was essential. It is a problem in winter, that's for sure, and more of a problem in a colder climate than north Georgia where I am. But basically I just open the vent in the air conditioner so fresh air has a place to come in, and run a small double window fan on exhaust. I've found that the lowest of the three speeds is adequate. The only openable window I have in the room is a sliding glass door, so I inserted the fan vertically in the door opening, and filled in the rest with foil-backed insulation board well sealed. I made insulation covers out of "reflectix" foil-covered bubble wrap insulation, cut so they can roll open when I use the fan, and roll over and seal with velcro when I don't. (These flexible insulators are useful to cover windows and doors in winter anyway, as they attach easily with velcro tabs or strips, and can help keep a room warm overnight while varnish or paint is curing.) While running the exhaust fan, I can keep the room warm enough by turning up the heat a bit. Warmer socks help too. Thanks again for your newsletter, Cathy Morgan" Thanks for the letter, and the comments. I agree in general, not the least of which is the part about the socks! ****************************************************************************************** And a question from Wayne Caskie: "I got one of those very nice (and very expensive -ed.) badger blender brushes. It starts out working great for softening glazes and faux marble, but after awhile the bristles clump and get stiff with glaze and actually begin to leave marks behind. What's the answer?" -If you're using the brush more or less constantly, you can occasionally brush the bristles lightly across a rag or paper towel to remove some of the excess material that accumulates. In fact, you have to do something similar anytime you want a dry brush for some technique; dragging is one that comes to mind, but I'm sure there are several more. But if you lay the brush down for more than a moment to pet the dog, yell at the kids, have a couple of cookies, or any other fun things, the tip of the brush will get stiff. (Keep in mind that you're only using the tips of any brush that you're using for blending, the rest of the brush should be staying clean and dry.) Assuming for the moment that you are working with oil-based paints, the answer is to dip the tip (only, not the whole length of the brush!) into some fairly clean mineral spirits, let the excess drip back into the container, then lightly shake out most of what is left. Finally, wipe out what's still on the brush with a rag. You should now have a clean, and almost dry brush which will work almost like new. That is Answer A. Answer B works better, but some people won't like it. It involves exactly the same technique except with lacquer thinner instead of mineral spirits. Lacquer thinner is much "hotter" than m.s., it will clean the paint faster and evaporate out of the brush much faster leaving it virtually dry in a few moments. The bad part about l.t. is that it's more flammable and worse smelling and harder on your system than paint thinner. But it mostly stays tightly contained in a covered coffee can and I wear heavier rubber gloves (nitrile, available at paint stores) if I'm going to be getting it on my hands. I prefer it for cleaning oil-based materials from brushes. And finally, Answer C, for those who are softening or blending water-based stuff. About the only thing that works very well is to do a preliminary dipping and flinging off the excess like above, except with water. You can really get a lot of the water out by shaking the brush out with your wrist, but it will still be pretty wet, and hence, useless for blending. But if you will then repeat the same procedure with the lacquer thinner, it will displace the water to a large degree, and dry very quickly. ******************************************************************************************* Got the winter blahs? Maybe this'll help... Here's a finish that fits in with the popular "shabby chic look" that is easy, a lot of fun, and can look good on any kind of piece from country rustic to very traditional. This would be great to try on anything that's been laying around the garage, attic, basement, etc., for awhile with no clear direction (inspiration?). Maybe it's picked up a few dings, -that's okay. It can be raw wood or previously finished wood or painted; you can probably figure a way to work in its current look with a good, new look. I also like it for wintertime because it doesn't involve the slower drying, stinkier solvent-based products. Cathy's warnings above included, -water-based products are much faster to dry in cooler or damp weather, and don't smell too bad while they're speeding along their drying path. The look we're going for here might be suggested by pretending the piece was once nice looking and decently finished, whether with a coat of paint or a natural wood finish. But over the years, the original finish was recoated, (maybe not too nicely done) and later was relegated to the garage or the chicken coop or the barn. It was long-neglected, used for rough storage, or for the kids to knock around. Then one day it was discovered by a discerning person (that would be you!) as having nice lines with a one-of-a-kind patina, so it was cleaned up a little, maybe waxed, and brought into the house where it serves timelessly in a place of honor. Now you don't have to make up a story for a piece, but I find that it helps, and, it's more fun, especially when people ask where/how you found such a wonderful treasure! Prep your candidate well enough to get a coat of flat latex to mostly stick to it. The neat thing about this is that it can be quite slap-dash; if the paint peels off here and there, so much the better. Pick the color of your choice, but you probably don't want it to be too intense; pastels or grayed colors. This base color could be an already existing paint or wood finish. More layers, partially revealed, will give the appearance of that many more previous incarnations. When it's dry, coat all or parts of it with hide glue as is demonstrated on the tapes for the crackle finish. When dry, brush on another coat of latex in a color that you feel will look good with the base color. After this coat has cracked and dried, go over it with a wet sponge. You will start to wash away the crackled coat and the glue, and your judgment will be used here. Just before the entire glue/paint mixture wipes away completely, it will leave islands of cracked paint with smooth edges instead of the normally more harsh edges of crackle paint. It looks as if the whole piece were once top-coated in this color, but long ago it began to alligator and then chip and peel off. These old, smooth remnants are all that remain of that last paint job. So take off as much or as little of the crackle coat as you wish. Next, throw some junk on it, or bang on it with something, poke it with an ice pick, blow off a little steam that would otherwise be directed towards the ones you love. Follow your distressing with a seal coat of something that isn't water-based. (Otherwise you would re-wet the remaining crackle/glue.) I'd suggest using orange shellac, as it doesn't smell bad, and doesn't smell for long since it dries so fast, and will let you continue on with the fun in a few moments. It also adds that amber tone that many old finishes acquire naturally. You might then wish to follow it with a glaze, probably in a brown or gray, to simulate years of dirt that are stuck in the nooks and crannies, including all the ones you just created with your hardware drawer. Then take some rough sandpaper (say, 80 or 120 grit) and start rubbing the places that would be worn by use; edges, around handles or pulls, tops of carvings, etc. Decide how many layers you want to cut through, or where you might want to cut way into the raw wood, rounding over the edges or other details. You may even want to use a power sander if you think you would like a lot of physical wear. Finish up with a higher grit if you want to keep things a little smoother or gentler. Obviously, each of these steps can be completely controlled by you; indications can be very soft and minimal, or quite drastic. Typically you might expect a simpler shaped piece to receive the rougher handling, while more delicate pieces would have a little less beat-up appearance. You'll be the judge. After you've exposed any raw wood, take some gray paint and dilute it to a stain quality, brushing it over the raw sections to instantly age them. Don't forget to add some fly specking in the color(s) of your choice, and maybe even a few random smudges of other colors (probably not too brilliant in hue). Let the whole medley dry overnight and finish off with a little 0000 steel wool and paste wax for a great, "look-what-I-found!" look that you can achieve in an after- noon. Way more fun than watching some sporting event on TV that you didn't care about anyway! ******************************************************************************************** Please forward this newsletter to interested friends. Best wishes, David Sorg

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