Why do I treat vintage frames differently than new garage sale finds? For one, they are OLD, which means the real wood has probably started to weaken a bit. It is rare to find an antique or vintage frame in perfect condition. They usually have a few knicks or are a bit weak in the corner areas, but as long as they are still in whole pieces and some what sturdy, you can repair these things.
Step 1: Evaluate your frame. Staple or nail any corners that are loose. IF YOU NAIL THEM, use very small carpenter nails. Older frames were made with small nails from the early 1900's, so large nails (higher gauge nails) can completely tear apart your frame and bust the wood. Any repairs need to be done with easy hands and with the great care.
Step 2: Do the knicks bother you or is that the look you are going for? If they bother you, fix them with wood filler. Just fill with a puddy knife and wood filler (or honestly you can use a kitchen knife if you don't have a puddy knife on hand) and lightly fill in the knicks. Let that dry for a bit, then lightly sand over those places. I wanted the knicks to show on my piece, as I wanted the frame to be distressed looking to match the girl's dresser. Shown below is a picture of the knicks that were already present on my frame.
Step 3: Paint!! This frame was actually already painted white when I bought it. However, if you have a plain wood piece, simply apply a coat of paint on it with a brush or roller. This piece has the
decorative corners and it is totally up to you if you want to remove these pieces to paint or paint over them in your base color (If you remove them, do so with the up most care and never remove nails with
a hammer!! Lightly pull them up by hand and lightly press them back on in the same manner.) Depending on what look you are going for, apply another coat of paint or don't if you want more of the natural wood to come through. My frame received two coats.
Step 4: Distress We all know this is my favorite part! On an older frame, however, you need to use care and a light hand. Too much pressure can cause the sides to buckle or the wood to split. I NEVER use my electric sander on an antique frame. I always sand by hand with 220 grit sand paper and do so with a light hand. It does take a bit longer, but there is nothing worse than getting this far in your project to have it break! Ugh! I always go with the grain and lightly make my way around the inside of the frame first, then the outside edges.
****If you wanted to glaze your frame, you would do so here***** Simply glaze, let dry overnight, and you are ready for the next step!***
Step 5: On this frame, I wanted the intricate corner pieces to be a different color (again, to match their dresser, so I was very particular). They were originally gold, and I did want a tiny bit of that to show, so I took my #8 flat brush and lightly painted the corner pieces with the Santa Fe Turquoise and water mixture from the vintage dresser post. This dried very quickly, so I was able to distress the corners after an hour. I took a small piece (just a tad bigger than a half dollar) of 220 grit sand paper and used my forefinger and middle finger to sand over these intricate corner pieces. They were ornate and I wanted to ensure I did not flatten out any of the curvature in these pieces. I sanded just enough for the gold to come through in places.
Step 6: Coat...I used polyurethane on this piece. As you all know, I very rarely use poly as it adds an additional step to the process, but with the white paint already applied, I was not sure the quality of the paint, etc. and did not want to risk it looking yuck down the road. So I applied polyurethane with a foam brush and let it dry overnight. The next morning, I took a foam sanding block and sanded over the frame (polyurethane turns white with sanded, to it helps alleviate that yellowish tint poly leaves) and buffed out the poly until it was completely blended. You could use any sealant you like...wax, lacquer, etc.
Ta-Da! My finished masterpiece!
Now, back to doing some pieces for my booth spaces...but boy, it sure has been fun to do some pieces for my girls :)
Happy, Happy Painting!
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