Frame Finishing

Exactly what are you talking about when you say that you are going to be finishing that picture frame? Well, I mean that I’m going to be deciding exactly how I want this frame to look now that I’ve brought it home. I’ve got quite a few options open to me as far as finishing goes. “Such as?” you ask. Well, I can paint it. I can stain it. I can also use enamel, though I’m not too sure about that one. I can lacquer it. Or, I can leave it natural and simply put polyurethane on it to protect it.

    “Wow! There really are a lot of different things you can do when you’re thinking about finishing a picture frame, aren’t there?” There sure are! Just thinking about how many different ways there are that you can go about finishing a picture frame can really make your head spin! “Ok, let’s say that I’ve chosen to paint this frame instead of leaving it plain, what choices do I have as far as colors and textures go?” In the arena of both color choices and textures goes, the sky is the limit! The only limits you have are monetary and décor. You really don’t need to buy a large (one gallon) can of paint if all you’re going to paint is an 11 in. by 14 in. frame. For that you only need a small can (8 oz.). As far as what color to choose, that is entirely up to you. “I have off-white walls in my Living Room; do I want to use white paint on this frame when I’m finishing it?” I don’t know, do you? A white frame might not stand out against an off-white wall, for that you might want to choose beige or brown or black. All of these will work against almost any background. Your choices as far as texturing goes are just about as varied. Simply adding some texturing to the frame that you’re finishing will add some pizzazz to a boring old frame. Texturing is very easy. You can use old sponges or old rags to drab-n-paint the frame. There is also textured spray-on paint that you can buy.

    “What about using a stain in finishing this frame? What kind would I choose to stain a frame if I have dark paneling?” You might want to use a very light stain, like Pine or light Oak, or you could keep the frame as it was naturally. If you have lightly painted walls or very light wallpaper, you might want to go with Cherry or Mahogany – these are very dark and beautiful.

If you chose to go with the option of either lacquering or enameling the frame, you will want to remember to match your color choices to the color scheme in your house. There’s another option that I have not talked about yet; and that is that you can use decals over any of the previous options. Decals are an interesting way to add that special finishing touch to your frame.

Please remember that you need to have newspaper under your frame and always wear gloves when you’re working on finishing a frame.