The Framers Forum

For a good paint to use as a basecoat, get youself down to local DIY shed and get a big tub of the stuff for textured ceilings/walls. I use Wickes trade
ripple coating - about £10 for 5lt. It has great 'stick' qualities. (as anyone who has tried stripping a ceiling will tell you). You can lay it on with a trowel and create interesing textures and dries fast. It only comes in White, but I tint it various colours using powder paint (the sort kids use at school). I usually top coat it with artists acrylic to get nice effects, although it sands nicely and gives a very nice surface when waxed.

On the subject of pine, some of the freshly cut stuff can be a bit iffy when it comes to paint. Stock that has been exposed to the air for a few years is no problem. I like to give fresh pine a coat of shellac. It not only seals the knots but gives a good surface for paint. Unlike sythetic varnishes, shellac (French Polish) is a natural product and is porus when dry. You can use water-based paints on top of it and they won't peel off later.

Hi Prospero,

Welcome, it's nice to have another hand-finishing enthusiast on the forum. I think framers either love or hate hand-finishing. I'm one of those who was completely hooked, after first watching a Pete Bingham demonstration at the NEC spring fair around about 2001.

Later after being made redundant and getting trained through the New Deal program I started my framing business and at that point I was told that the New Deal program would pay for additional appropiate training if taken up during the following two years. During my first year in business I had a heart attack which nearly put me out of business, (hand finished enabled me to work at a slower pace while earning enough to survive), then about six months later I arranged through the New Deal program to spent a whole week training with Pete Bingham. I was already doing lots of hand-finishing before then.

He said that he could teach me everything in two days, but I said I wanted to learn everything he could teach me for the whole week and I'm glad I did! I spent the whole week asking questions, watching and learning. Between a quarter and a third of my orders involve some degree of hand-finishing (the amount varies from time to time) and the things I learnt during that week have changed so many things about how I run my business.

I hope you enjoy the forum.
Mark