How to Restore Antique Frames

Should you chance to get an original Monet or Rembrandt, any damage to the frame is priceless proof of the job’s history and should be preserved — not restored. But less auspicious old frames are not so valuable and will gain in attractiveness, not lose value, when you restore them into appealing condition. As soon as you’ve determined it’s secure to restore your antique frame, consult with an expert framer for a costly heirloom, or choose the appropriate repair method for this fantastic old frame from the loft.

Loose Joints

An antique frame is old — a little loose at the joints and worn around the edges. Clean up it carefully, to avoid further damage, by draining the frame with a clean paintbrush, then wiping it down with a soft cloth dampened with nonflammable solvent. Test the cleaner on an unobtrusive part of the frame first to be sure that you won’t damage or remove the finish. Label the parts of the frame and then gently disassemble it so that you can scrape off the dried, useless glue, reapply clear carpenter’s glue and fit the pieces back together. Measure to be sure the frame is perfectly square; frame straps will maintain the corners in place as the adhesive dries. Heavier frames may require metal corner braces to reinforce them — brass won’t discolor the old wood.

Gouged, Chipped and Cracked

A frame fancier than a wedding cake, with a couple of bits missing, demands prosthetic assistance. Create missing segments in sculpted and carved frames with gesso or tape glue. Materials a crack or a lost chunk with the compound, and copy the detail on the undamaged part of the frame. Use a toothpick, painting knifeor your fingers to mold the new piece. Once it dries rock-hard, a fine nail file smooths off any rough edges. You are able to replace a larger missing section by making a silicone putty mold of a similar, undamaged piece of the frame, filling the mold with resin and then gluing the resin replicate into the gap.

Straightforward Scratches

Do not tear the frame apart and reconstruct it if it’s just scratched or dented a little bit. Simply touch up it — evidence of wear is part of its charm. Dust and wash out the frame, and then dab on fitting wood stain or a liquid scratch remover on any distress to the varnish or lacquer. Use a fine artist’s brush or a cotton swab to apply the correct; cover your own finger with a sterile cloth to wash off excess end. You may require a touch-up with some glossy or matte varnish so the repaired segment mimics the glow of the remaining part of the frame.

Dirty Gold

Gold leaf is fragile and tricky to use, but you are able to wash an antique gold leaf frame that period has dimmed with a half-and-half mixture of ammonia and water. Proceed carefully, working the solution to cracks, corners and carvings with a delicate brush. Shake the frame above a trash bin to release any dirt. Proceed over the cleaned place with a different brush and plain water, and then shake it again. Rubbing gold foliage could remove it from the frame, so allow the washed framework dry naturally. Dab wax gilt finish from the art supply shop on any scratches to cover them. Extensive scratches may require a reapplication of the golden leaf, likely a job for an expert. If you’re able to handle it yourself, make sure you match the antiqued quality of the gold colour as closely as possible with fresh silver foliage.

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Water Stain Removal for Knotty Pine Paneling

Knotty pine is known for its bold grain and vibrant knots. Pine paneling has light undertones that reveal stains badly. A little water stain can ruin an whole walls of paneling if left untreated. There are lots of procedures for removing water stains from your paneling. The method employed for fixing the stained area depends upon the kind of stain that you have in your knotty pine paneling.

Iron Method

For white or muddy spots in your paneling that haven’t penetrated all the way through the timber, a hot iron can be used to improve the overall look of the spot. Fold a clean, soft, cotton cloth and place it over the spot. Plug in and turn onto a household iron to its greatest setting. Position the hot iron over the water stain and press firmly. Permit the heat to permeate through the cloth into the finish for at least 60 minutes. Remove the iron and cloth. Visually inspect the spot and reapply the iron needed.

Hairdryer

Another method of applying heat to snowy or hazed water stains from pine paneling is to use a warm atmosphere source. Two okay tools to supply heat to the area are a hairdryer plus a woodworker’s heating gun. For a hairdryer, place it to the highest setting. For a heating gun, set it to low. Start the gun and point it in the area from a few inches away. Apply heat to the area for a minumum of one minute. Permit the area to cool, then visually inspect the stain. Reapply the heat as needed.

Toothpaste

For deeper stains with discoloring, a light abrasive such as toothpaste can be used to polish the stain from the finish. Apply a small amount of toothpaste into the affected area and rub it in with a sterile cloth. Polish the place with the cloth to buff out the water stain. Use a clean cloth to wipe the the toothpaste in the surface. Reapply the toothpaste as needed to finish the stain removal process.

Strip and Bleach

For severe stains which have ruined the paneling’s finish and penetrated into the timber, stripping and refinishing are often demanded. Tape off the area and employ a gel stain with a soft brush. Permit the stripper to work for the time recommended on the package label. Use a nylon scraper to scrape the stripper and old finish by the taped-off location. Rinse the area with sterile mineral spirits. Allow it to dry. Sand the area lightly, using a rotary tool with a sanding tip accessory or sandpaper. Apply an all round stain and clear finish in a walnut color which matches the surrounding area, using a soft brush.

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Stomp or Textured Drywall and Ceiling Techniques

Drywall texture provides a tactile quality that could mimic other wall coverings, like plaster or adobe, and because it changes the reflectivity of the walls, so it may make a room more comfy. Texturing materials aren’t exotic — you normally use the same joint compound you use for taping seams, and the resources are common and affordable. If you’re searching for an uncomplicated technique, you may create an intriguing pattern using a stomp brush.

Stomping Essentials

The main ingredient to get a stomped texture is drywall joint compound thinned to your paintable consistency with water — it still has to be thin enough to spread with a roller but stiff enough to keep on the ceiling. You need two tools: a paint roller with a hefty nap skin and a stomping brushthat consists of a wooden handle with stiff, long bristles that are usually ordered in an oval or rectangle. Drywall texturing is cluttered work, so make certain to move furniture from the room and cover the floor with drop cloths before you begin.

The Way To Stomp

Once the taping is completed and the walls hardened, you start the stomping process by spreading a coat of joint compound on the wall or ceiling using the paint roller. Joint compound dries slowly, so it’s fine to cover the whole wall or ceiling before stomping, avoiding streaks and voids as you would when painting. You do the actual stomping by repeatedly dabbing the stomping brush to the moist coat of mud; clean the brush periodically in water to prevent clumping. The sum that you overlap determines the overall look of the texture pattern and also is an issue of taste.

Knocking Down the Texture

The activity of a stomp brush leaves sharp points from the texture pattern that you might choose to flatten. The ideal time to do this is following the joint compound has had a chance to stiffen, or about an hour later stomping. Holding a drywall knife with its blade almost parallel to the surface and running it gently over the texture flattens the sharp points and leaves a flattened, plasterlike surface. Use light pressure — you don’t wish to push the mud to the depressions left by the stomp brush and then erase the pattern completely.

Alternatives to Stomping

In lieu of stomping, drywall finishers frequently spray texture using a manual-pump sprayer, let it stiffen and then knock it down using a drywall knife. This creates an irregular pattern similar to that created by a stomp brush, but it takes less stuff, and it leaves part of the drywall vulnerable. This technique demands a more complete taping job because badly taped seams are more visible. Additionally, it is common practice to apply the mud to get a knockdown pattern using a drywall knife, scraping the knife gently on the drywall to leave bigger, better-defined islands of material that may be later flattened with a second pass of the knife.

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How to construct a Waist-High Planter

A waist-high flower planter can deliver huge impact on a deck, deck or front porch. By constructing your planter from a lightweight hypertufa mixture, the large planter will be easy to move, even when filled with potting soil and plants. Hypertufa was developed by European gardens to mimic porous and lightweight volcanic tufa stone. A large, waist-high wicker laundry basket produces an effective mold to the planter and can leave a basket weave design pattern on the finished planter. Start looking for an inexpensive used wicker laundry basket in a thrift shop because the basket will not endure the procedure.

Wear rubber gloves and mixture 10 pounds of Portland cement, 15 lbs of vermiculite and 15 lbs of peat moss in a wheelbarrow with a trowel.

Add 1 cup of water and then stir it in the cement mixture with the trowel. Repeat, adding water 1 cup at a time prior to the hypertufa mixture is the texture of cooked oatmeal.

Grab a handful of this hypertufa mixture and apply it to the inside of a wicker laundry basket. Duplicate, to cover the inside bottom and walls of the basket with a 2-inch layer of this hypertufa mixture.

Push your finger through the bottom layer of hypertufa to make three drainage holes in the planter.

Permit the hypertufa mixture to dry and cure for 48 hours in a covered area, like a shed or garage. Cut the wicker laundry basket in the hypertufa mixture with wire snips. The waist-high planter is ready for filling with permeable soil and plants.

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Aluminum Pan Roof Repair

A modern aluminum pan roof can offer several years of maintenance-free provider, but older roofing can eventually show signs of leaking or corrosion. In addition, exposure to years of direct sunlight can fade or damage painted finishes and lead to unsightly flaking or peeling. Fortunately, any of these problems can be repaired by an experienced do-it-yourselfer equipped with everyday tools.

Loose Seams

When installed correctly, a metallic pan roof is held together by galvanized fasteners folded tightly into leak-resistant neoprene washers. If the screws or nails become loose, water will seep through the space to the surface beneath. In many cases, you can resolve this issue simply by tightening the screws or banging the nails back to place. If the fasteners or the adjacent roof show any signs of corrosion, replace them with new galvanized fasteners and neoprene rubber washers, and then apply a clear sealer over the screw or nail head.

Leaky Flashing

Your aluminum pan roof can be damaged by wind uptake, expanding winter ice conditions along with the nesting of wild animals. Any of these situations can cause the roof panels to pull away in the flashing, which channels rainwater to the surfaces beneath. Scrape out any debris or dirt in the affected area before applying a generous coating of roof cement or a urethane adhesive/sealant. In most circumstances, the urethane will dry and cure more quickly. Apply weight to the newly sealed region for about 24 hours or as directed by the manufacturer’s instructions.

Metal Corrosion

If the roof has been installed using old-fashioned lead washers or non-galvanized nails or screws, those fasteners will corrode over time and that corrosion could spread beyond the hole. If that’s the case, you should plan on replacing the original fasteners to stop widespread corrosion. Use a stiff wire brush to remove all the visible corrosion, and fill some soft spots or tiny holes in the aluminum with a epoxy patching compound.

Failed Coating

Contemporary aluminum pan roofs incorporate a factory applied finish, however that protective coating will surely fail before the aluminum itself because of sunlight exposure and also the repeated expansion caused by heat and cold cycles. Signals of failure include fading, chalking, flaking and peeling. You can repair the issue using a new coat of elastomeric paint in a cool roof color. These coatings are far less prone to premature failure in temperature variations, and in addition, they reduce summertime heat transmission into the living room beneath.

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