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Furniture Finishing

FLAT FROSTING

A readily recognized form of flat frosting is offered by silver gray oak which has been popular for years, especially on breakfast room furniture. The wood is first stained gray, preferably with a water stain in order to assure clearness of tone.

This is sealed with a thin coat of white shellac followed by white filler (paste white lead or zinc oxide and japan drier or a mixture) reduced and applied like ordinary wood filler. This when dry is protected by white shellac, followed by wax. Any attempt to use orange shellac, varnish or even ordinary lacquer will spoil the effect owing to the tendency of their inherent amber coloring to combine with the blue cast of the stain and give an unsightly greenish hue.

For novelty effects a blue, green or brown aniline water stain may be used as with willow and fibre furniture. The use of a light brown solution gives what is known as an Hungarian finish—if of a deeper tone, Austrian. All call for a white filler except Italian oak which, through a gray tinted wax over a blackish brown stain, gives an open-pored semi-frosted effect.

Another flat frosted finish calls for lacquer enamel of desired shade reduced very thin, then sprayed or brushed on the oak, let dry a few hours, striped, banded or decorated as desired and followed by a white wax which is allowed to set twenty or thirty minutes; first wiped across the grain, then rubbed with it to a polish. This provides a speedy as well as a highly decorative finish, but for table tops or wherever heat or hard wear is expected, it will be well to substitute white filler for the wax. sealed with one or two coats of pale lacquer. The number of combinations with white wax or filler is limited only by the number of shades of lacquer enamel available, but it will be found that the deeper tones offer the most satisfactory contrasts. It is also possible to apply and high-light a pigment wiping stain which at the same time acts as a unifier where red and white oak are used in the same piece. A coat of gloss body lacquer follows, then a coat of Antique Oak glaze which is brushed on, allowed to set, and rubbed across the grain to a polished finish. This glaze coat consists of a mixture of liquid wax and dry colors with a little dryer.