limed oak.

[IFGL]

I have customer we do volume work for, they asked me to produce some large frames in a wide limed oak profile to display their new Ltd edition print range at the Harrogate home and gift show.

I used Simon's oak/0001 flat 57 my wide and rubbed liming wax into the grain, this looked OK.
Now my problem is it took a while to lime 6 big frames 900 x 600 ish, which didn't matter for those 6 as they were just for display and we're not intended to be for sale, unfortunately most customers want to purchase the new prints framed, I am selling to a company who is selling to galleries who is selling to the public

So my question is, is there a product I can use that is quicker than rubbing liming wax into the grain as the price needs to be right and I don't fancy spending the rest of my life rubbing liming wax into oak.

[GeoSpectrum]

White acrylic mixed with an little acrylic medium.

[Graysalchemy]

I was going to say white emulsion wiped on with a sponge then wiped off, and once dry a quick wax with c.robertsons gilt wax medium (I say this as it is a very liquid wax which rubs in very easily with minimal effort speeding up the process.

[prospero]

I'd go for the white emulsion followed by clear wax. Dilute it well and slap it on all over. Then wipe it off as it dries. When dry, a quick tickle with medium sandpaper.

Dilute the wax with white spirit so you can brush it on. Wipe off excess and leave it half an hour or so and then give it a quick buff.

I used liming wax once and found it extremely hard-going.

[IFGL]

Thanks people I will give the emolsion / wax combo a go.

Yes Prospero the liming wax was a pain in the arse, it isn't bad on the odd frame but this will be lots of 30 to 50 at a time, it needs to be quick and efficient.

[prospero]

Maybe diluting the liming wax with white spirit would make it easier. Worth a try although it's still a messy exercise.

One advantage with paint is that you can add subtle tints of colour.

If you are doing a quantity, a buffing pad on a power drill or better still an air-driven buffer would speed the polishing up and take a bit of arm-ache out of the job. As long as the moulding is reasonably flat.

[IFGL]

Well I am at the end of a tin with just a little left in, I will try diluting it and let you know how well it works, not sure why I didn't think of that myself.

[theframer]

I have used Eggshell diluted with white spirit before just brushed on and no need for anything on top.

[IFGL]

Tried thinning the liming wax with white spirit, I put a bit too much in and the stuff was the consistency of milk, dipped a rag in and wiped it over the oak, it worked absolutely perfect with no working into the grain at all.