Easy Frame Repair Method

Framar

WOW Framer
Joined
Jul 24, 2001
Posts
26,420
Loc
Buffalo, New York, USA/Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada
I thought y'all might be interested in my latest method for the repair of compo frames with missing ornamentation. Notice that I ain't talkin' about the restoration of hand-carved water gilded frames here - just the repair of customers' beloved old cheap family frames.

Over the years I have read of every method of ornament replacement and tried most of 'em. This is what I have come up with:

Being a miniaturist, I have long been a fan of the Micromark catalog which sells tools and materials for model makers. It is within their wonderful pages that I found this two part SILICONE mold material. This stuff is like slippery clay - it comes in two parts and you grab two globs and mix them together to create the mold material. They say it cures in 5 minutes. Don't believe that, however - I usually leave it on the frame overnight.

First I dust the frame with talc - apply the mold material, let stand.

I have always in the past used Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty for filling these molds. However - it is messy and for deep replacements - not very reliable. Plus it can be breakable. So now I use two part epoxy moldable putty - this stuff comes in a variety of types. Some are stiffer than others - depending on the amount and the detail - the stiffer ones are obviously better for larger ornaments.

What I have just come up with as a refinement of my technique is this: I mix up enough of the epoxy putty - press it into place JUST WHERE I NEED IT - and THEN, after dusting the mold with talc, press it over the putty - peel it off, see if I have enough putty (if not, add more) and the results are instantaneous! No overlap! No MESS!

An old favorite epoxy material (also from Micromark) is called Milleput (superfine white). This stuff is AMAZING!!! It is smoothable with WATER!!! Which makes it very easy to blend in to the existing frame. It cures in a couple of hours (has a much longer working time than the "tube" epoxy putties) and it hard as a rock and sticks like the devil to the substrate. Easily finished with leaf, paint, whatever.


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Easy as one, two, three!!!
 
the job looks good.

My only caution is that the frame you worked on appears to be circa 1850 and might be worth more than you think. There might be real gold under that bronze paint that is on the top.
 
Originally posted by JFeig:
My only caution is that the frame you worked on appears to be circa 1850 and might be worth more than you think. There might be real gold under that bronze paint that is on the top.
Naw, Jerome, it looks more like those cheapies that JoAnne's is pushing..... :D

Spandral? 1850? Gold leaf? With a Reform Cartouch?
Guild maybe?
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Oops - I forgot to mention that YES I make the mold from a whole portion of the design on another corner - I must admit I "fudged" the picture (I forgot to take the pic when I actually slapped on the mold material).

As to the value of the frame - the client is an antique dealer - nuff said? No way would he have gone to a conservator. Although I DID REFUSE to work on a real hand-carved Italian water-gilded frame that he brought in. I told him to find a carver to replace the missing areas and then take THAT one for conservation because it was a real doozy (Baer, is that the official correct terminology?) and probably in restored condition worth a small fortune. He was salivating as he left to go find the old furniture carver guy from Kittenger's.

I see compo and bronze paint - maybe touches of leaf. Not a great frame, IMHO.
 
web site for Micromark, or phone number, please!

See, this is the kind of stuff that sets you apart.

Bet
 
Betty,

Ya shoulda figured this one out by now!! :cool:
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Micromark's website

Their phone # is www. ....... no,
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wait, that would be 800-225-1066!

Send for their catalog no matter what. They have some really neat miniature tools and stuff.

Framerguy

Edit:

I had to dig out my catalog to get the information and, after browsing through it again, I'll bet that you will be coming up with all sorts of ideas for using some of the tools and equipment shown in there, Betty. They carry such unique stuff that I'm sure you will be in hog heaven just looking at all the cool stuff!!
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Looks great. My real question is how much do you charge for this. The amount of time it really takes always seems to be much more than you think (1 hour project takes a day, 1 day project takes a week...)
Most of the time a new frame is cheaper than the repair.

Thanks for the tips though. Knowing how to do this may come in handy as long as we remember to charge appropriately.
 
Ok, you caught my interest. I just ordered some milleput to give it a try. I would have thought epoxy putty would be too stiff to go into a mold but this stuff sounds great. It looks like your repair came out very well. What did you use to color it? Do you have a picture of the whole frame? I'd love to see it.
 
I use a variety of paints, the Liberon ones and tube acrylics - I just keep blending til I achieve the look I want. I went on to finesse that frame a bit more after I took the close-ups. Guy hasn't picked it up yet so I'll take a pic on Tuesday.

I charge by the hour (plus unusual expenses). I try to "batch" these jobs - for instance, the same guy brought in 3 frames - this one was the quickest and easiest. I told him it would be around $100 - it came out to $90 - an hour and a half all together.

I could probably be charging more but this guy is a brand new referral and he's reselling the items - so I was kind to him. I had to do a bit of a redo on one of the other frames because the putty I used was too stiff (NOT Milleput.)

BTW - anyone who gets hooked on Micromark and spends WAY too much money - don't blame me! LOL!

I also re-checked the frame today - no trace of ever having been leafed. Just paint.
 
I just thought of two more things. The epoxy putty in the photo is a stiffer and now unavailable tube epoxy. For this small mend is was perfect. I am almost out of it now.

The Milleput is one of the most versatile and amazing products I have ever had the pleasure to work with. I have fashioned new ears for plastic/china/whatever horse statues in my collection, I have repaired the lid to a Brita Pitcher (it is food-grade exoxy), I have used it to make jewelry, I have leafed it with real gold - it is addictive!
 
One more great thing about the Micromark catalog - every year from mid-June to mid-September almost everything they sell is on sale at HUGE discounts. I try to stockpile my needs and wishes until this sale time!

And it is more of a "wishbook" than the Sears catalog EVER was!
 
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