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I needed an excuse to experiment with Lee Valley brushing lacquer and my wife needed a frame for a recently completed piece of needlework. We had selected a fairly elaborate mat for it so we opted for a simple style of frame.
The frame I ended up building was made of cherry with a simple rouned profile. After sanding as smooth as I could get it, I dyed the wood with a dark red water-based aniline dye. This was followed by a wash of orange shellac. Then I reapplied the dye and reapplied the shellac. This was repeated about four times as I recall, then the piece was sanded with 400 grit wet/dry paper. The water-based dye raised the grain, but the shellac would harden the raised portions making them easier to cut with the sandpaper. I noticed after sanding that I needed to reapply the dye and shellac again and did so twice, sanding after with 400 wet/dry paper. In future, rather than 4 coats then 2, I would go 2 and 2. The color at this stage was very different but once the lacquer was applied it became quite beautiful. I applied three coats of lacquer, sanding between coats with 400 wet/dry paper. The frame was then rubbed out with a piece of felt using mineral oil and fine pumice, then rottenstone. It was then finished with several coats of wax buffed to a high shine.
The result, seen here more closely is still nice after several years of wear and moving. All it needs is a touch of wax and a quick buff to bring back the original shine. This method of finishing has become a favorite with me and I have used it since on many projects.
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