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Furniture Finishing

For a minute or two the crackle lacquer will look like another solid covering coat, but will shortly begin to separate in an intricate design revealing the undercoat color between the irregular lines. After the crackled lacquer has dried for two or three hours a protective coat of clear lacquer should be applied. This may be flat or gloss according to the lustre desired, but in either case it serves to bind down the crackle, brighten its color and preserve it from wear.

Crackle lacquer is sprayed on as any other lacquer, but no small practice and skill are required if the crackles must appear of a uniform size. In general the more reducer used to the gallon of crackle the smaller and more shallow will be the crackles; likewise the quicker the crackle coat dries (and its drying may be hastened by blowing a jet of fresh air on the wet work), the smaller will be the cracks. The obverse, of course, holds true in each case. Uniform film and even air pressure are other essentials, for it is useless to try and touch up a coat just crackling by going over it again. In fact it will be found best to test out any new "work on a practice panel until assured that all conditions are right.

A variation of crackling, known as a "leather finish," is obtained by spraying on a base coat of clear gloss lacquer, followed by a coat of black crackle and then one of lacquer enamel. This will give only the crackled effect without color contrast— for example, the proper shade of light brown lacquer enamel for the final coat will give a very close imitation of pigskin. But even here a certain contrast may be secured as where an ivory lacquer enamel finish coat is antique glazed in brown and wiped so as to leave the glaze showing only in the cracks, protected with clear lacquer. In this manner high-lighted and shaded effects for cabinet fronts may also be secured by hand work instead of spraying.


Frosting


FROSTING is a system of color contrast applied particularly to the uneven type of surface offered by wicker furniture, wicker being understood to include reed, fibre and willow, also such deep pored woods as oak. It relies for decorative interest on a color ground coat over which is applied another color of harmonizing or contrasting shade, wiped off while wet so as to leave the first showing only on raised parts and the second in depressions and pores.

The ground coat may be (1) a transparent aniline water stain, green, gray, brown, red, blue or yellow, the range of shades limited only by the proportions and number of powders used to the gallon of solvent, (2) oil or varnish enamel, (3) lacquer enamel, (4) bronze colors. (See Book V, Chapter VI, Wicker Furniture.) Once the stain is sealed with clear lacquer or shellac substitute and the enamels are hard dry, the piece is ready for frosting.