Brass Tray & Box frame mouldings

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NikiH
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Brass Tray & Box frame mouldings

Post by NikiH »

Hi I am struggling to find a supplier of metal brass tray frame and box frame mouldings. All of the usual suppliers don't do this as far as I can see. Has anyone been through this and found a supplier. We would need to make over 400 large frames so it is a substantial order. I am getting a quote for adding brass plating to aluminium but it would be better to be able to get hold of the right moulding.
Thank you.
Not your average framer
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Re: Brass Tray & Box frame mouldings

Post by Not your average framer »

What exactly did you have in mind? Liquid leaf metallic paint colours include a bright brass metallic paint which you can buy from Goldleafsupplies. To cet enough of this paint for 400 frames might not be easy, as I don't know how much that they are likely to keep in stock and I don't think that it's particularly cheap either. There's not a lot of difference between most bright gold good quality metallic paints and bright brass, but quite a few paints and finishes, with the right sounding names can be a bit dull to look at. So, maybe not be easy to pick the right one!

Do you have any idea of what your customer is expecting? Just asking for a brass finish is not very specific and does not necessarily tell you very much about what it is going to actually look like. I think that maybe you need to get some samples and talk to your customer again and find out what it is that is wanted. A really bright brass finish might even need to be a real gilded finish using real brass leaf, if there is such a thing! I'm not personally convinced that such a thing is actually available.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
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prospero
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Re: Brass Tray & Box frame mouldings

Post by prospero »

I'm sure there used to be deep aluminium frames available, but I haven't seen any for years.
'Polished Gold' is the nearest thing you are going to get to Brass.

How deep do you need it?

There is metal channelling available which you could use slipped over a wood moulding. You would need a saw with the
right blade to cut it.

I'll have a gooogle later......
Watch Out. There's A Humphrey About
Not your average framer
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Re: Brass Tray & Box frame mouldings

Post by Not your average framer »

I don't have any catalogues to enable me to confirm this, but I am pretty sure that the are extruded aluminium tray frames available from various suppliers in a range of anodised metallic colours. I'd be really surprise if one of these suppliers cannot offer a bright gold finish version, which might be the right look for what you require. You would of course need to satisfy your self that the colour was exactly what you wanted. Unfortunately I am not aware that any suppliers call the colour of any of their mouldings "brass". So you need to see a physical sample to be sure.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
NikiH
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Re: Brass Tray & Box frame mouldings

Post by NikiH »

Thank you for the replies. I have looked at all UK suppliers and have Nielson on the case with their head office in Germany. It seems brass was produced but it was considered to be old fashioned. Apparently now it's making a comeback but the moulding suppliers haven't realised. Both frames need to be @45mm deep. There are metallic frames available in different colours but our task is quite specific with the deep Tray and Box frame styles. There's no gold even.
Bobble
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Re: Brass Tray & Box frame mouldings

Post by Bobble »

400 frames from impossible moulding? Could it be an old April Fool's joke with whiskers, being passed round the country?
Naughty but nice... Good luck with the search.
NikiH
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Re: Brass Tray & Box frame mouldings

Post by NikiH »

Bobble - tell me about it! Story of my life. :?
Not your average framer
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Re: Brass Tray & Box frame mouldings

Post by Not your average framer »

There was a time when I bought a quanity of a brass finished hockey shaped moulding. It was a very cheap discontinued moulding and obviously something which the supplier was struggling to persuade anyone to buy. I bought it because it was ten pence per foot and that was because they were obviously really desparately struggling to clear some really dead stock. Quite simply nobody whated it, it just looked too glitzzy, but I thought that I could sell it, if I did the right tings with it.

The plain truth was that glitzzy brass stuff has been a brief thing which killed the market for brass finishes by making it look cheap, when it did not need to be like that. I stacked this very glitzzy brass hockey moulding inside a basic flat black moulding which I polished to a high shine and for a while it sold like crazy. I put a suitably up market price on it and it sold quite easily. Thinking about it, I really don't understand why brass is not more popular to the picture industry, as it has great possibilities.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
Bobble
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Re: Brass Tray & Box frame mouldings

Post by Bobble »

Niki, I used to keep a book of queries with contact details in case of a 'serendipity' moment later on. Everyday folk at the front, serious quality stuff upside down at the back. Your 400 frames would definitely be there, gathering cobwebs! Eventually I would scribble TW over an entry so as not to waste any more research time in the future. Yup, I called 'em all Terry Wogan (Radio 2 favourite - shows how old I am). Course, actually meant Time Waster.
Now enjoying retirement (after 30 years enjoyable framing) and book binned successfully. Found this helpful site much too late but never mind.
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