Decorative Finishes
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A few sample images. March 14, 2004
Question
I am getting into decorative finishes using glazes, and am looking for pictures of many different kinds, like antiqued, distressed, faux, etc. I would like these pictures to compare my results with. I just finished a few prototypes and wouldn't mind some helpful criticism to improve on them.
Forum Responses
From contributor W:
Should be lots of books available at your local big box store. I've bought a couple of decent ones there that show the basics. The most comprehensive book I have seen is "The Art of Faux" by Pierre Finkelstein.
From contributor C:
Over the years I have built a pretty nice personal library of faux finishing books. I often lend them to customers for browsing or bookmark certain pages as examples of potentially useful looks. They have been helpful as cheap samples for the early stages of decision making and as inspirational browsing material for times when ideas are not as abundant as usual. The whole faux genre is in a boom right now, so there are many nice titles to choose from. I own so many of the better ones that I only buy one once in a while, but for you, there is a veritable plethora out there. My two favorites are "The Art of Faux" by Pierre Finkelstein (as mentioned) and "Professional Painted Finishes" by Ina Brosseau Marx, Allen Marx and Robert Marx. If you want to see what some of the top professionals can do, take a look at "Sophisticated Surfaces" by Karen Aude (these finishes are not for beginners, though).
From Bob Niemeyer, forum technical advisor:
The book listed above is good for basics.
You need to do this glazing and still be able to make money. First, find a distributor that has awesome tech support, not just salesmen that memorized tech sheets. A good find would be a distributor with a tech that was a wood finisher himself. This type of tech can teach you a lot, quickly. I like to show several methods to a customer, to see what works best for them. Then I show them how to do this in a custom or production setting. After the customer gets the basics down, I show them the shortcuts to speed things up. Of course, all finish systems are different, so I can't go into details here.
From contributor M:
Gives these a try. Remember, practice makes perfect, and perfect takes lots of practice.
From contributor R:
Those sure are some pretty pictures! That red sample jumped right off the computer screen. How about some details?
From contributor M:
Those 4 decorative finishes appeared in an article in Custom Woodworking Business (August 2003).
The red leather top was done with colored basecoats of bulletin red, and then mottled out with a black glaze. It was then stripped, and finally clear coated with acrylic.
From contributor R:
Have you any pictures of that background color used in conjunction with a glazed and crackled finish?
From contributor M:
I should have another photo with a black background and red crackle. If I find it I will post it.
No glazes in these photos.
From contributor M:
It was red base color coat, with a black crackle.
