Putty?

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Kirstie

Kirstie

PFG, Picture Framing God
Joined
Jan 16, 2007
Posts
8,395
Loc
Berkeley, CA
As we have been talking about joining, how many of you who use underpinners still color your corners before joining and then putty the finished product?
 
I colour corners. (What does everyone use for a white moulding?)

If I have to get the putty out, I beat myself up for not doing a good job.

Sadly that occurs more often than I’d like.

Clive.
 
Yup. It seems to give an even finer finish. It kind of reminds me of cleaning a room. It may look just fine, but when you take some time to dust, vacuum and straighten, you see that it may have looked OK before you started, but that it could be improved with a little extra effort....
 
Yep, color and putty, when I have to.
(The sander eliminates puttying often, but not always.)

Hired Help, there is a white acrylic pen that United sometimes has and the craft stores almost always do, that works OK for white.
 
yes color then putty when needed ( use sander so putty is usually not needed)

on white we use small cans of white latex interior wall paint..and a small art brush..have several shades of white (8) premixed and just open and use.) courtesy of my friends at Sherwin-Williams )
 
Don't pre colour unless ornate designs will not match

Putty & colour only if necessary post joining
 
Never met a corner that did not need something. It is the difference between the everyday and the perfect.
 
Always color and putty. As for the white frames, I used a white paint marker. Any good craft store will carry them.

I went to a frame compitition once, and NONE of the frames had been marked or puttied. They looked AWFUL! I would have been imbarrassed to have my name on any of them. (I had just started framing at the time, and even as a new framer I could see how bad they looked.)

It just takes a few seconds, and makes the frame look finished.
 
Yep, markers and putty! :)

Speaking of putty...I am wondering if there is some sort of worldwide shortage as United has taken more than 6 weeks...and counting...to get me my set of 16. I have had to order the LJ set to get by with. Sorry for the Frankenthread Kirstie! :P
 
Yes to both here too. Agree that it just looks better - more professtional.
 
yes to both always. Saw some bad corners in some of the moulding booths. Makes you wonder who does those sometomes. Did anyone see some of the corners in the Crescent booth? Some of those sooooo needed a new sharp blade and the little nubs in the corner htat neede nicked off.:bdh: I was really suprised those were up.
 
I use both as well (probably because I don't have a disc sander). On golds and silvers, however, I almost always use spackling and Liberon gilt creams.
 
We do as well, color and putty. I was asking because sometimes I look back at the putty table and find some framers spending an inordinate amount of time back there.:bdh:

When we had LJ make 250 frames for us a while ago, nothing really needed putty. This make me wonder about our chopper and Casesse and why our frames seem to need putty.
 
mikki said:
yes to both always. Saw some bad corners in some of the moulding booths. Makes you wonder who does those sometomes. Did anyone see some of the corners in the Crescent booth? Some of those sooooo needed a new sharp blade and the little nubs in the corner htat neede nicked off.:bdh: I was really suprised those were up.
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OK, NOW I get the use of the new smiley. LOL! I think I could apply that on a daily basis. Beating a dead horse.
 
Color edges when needed, but I've been using waaay less putty (and therefore, less time). At the first sign of dull chopper blades (gaps, ragged edges, etc), they get changed (dull ones get sent in as soon as they come off, so no waiting). Also, keeping the channel in the back fence of the chopper filled with silicone has helped immensely with eliminating the need to fix chippy outside corners.

When something does need filling, where I used to putty, I now "fill it" with Corner Weld, let it dry, and paint over with acrylic paint, mixed to match. If it's a shiny surface, mix a bit of acrylic gloss medium in with the paint, which normally dries flat. Not as time-consuming as it sounds. Doesn't rub off on a wall, doesn't make such a mess as putty, dries hard, where putty stays soft forever. I still putty occasionally but not as much as in the past.

Sharp blades, in my opinion, are the answer for this framer.

Check your blades, Kirstie.
 
I can't decide if I'm a perfectionist or that I'm so lazy that I try to join all my corners perfectly so I won't have to putty them. Even with ornate mouldings I go out of my way to match patterns just so I don't have to get the putty out. Puttying is my least favorite thing to do in framing so I spend an inordinant amount of time in my choping and joining.

I don't color in white mouldings. They almost always have a thick white finish so if the edges show at all its still white anyways.
 
I always colour the corners, but very rarely need to putty (especially since I purchased a mitre sander). And, in most cases, if there is the slightest of gaps, I can get away with using my acrylic paints (mixed to colour match) just like Val does.
 
I use the same techniques Val described. I rarely use putty, so except for maybe the white, black, and dark gold colors, I have all the same cans I started out with 30 years ago. Don't know how they can make any money on me. ;) For small gap or chip-out I use Elmer's wood filler- dries quickly, smoothes easily, comes in dark and light wood colors in plastic tubes. Finish w. acrylics. It really doesn't take that much extra time to produce "close-to-closed-corner" results.
:cool: Rick
 
.....I love my acrylic paints! A framer's best friend! (Well, one of...heh-heh) ..... :D
 
I can't believe we've made it this far without someone chiming in that if you have to putty or color corners, you are a crappy framer with crappy equipment that is poorly calibrated, yada yada yada.

I color my corners (except for white), I sand, and I putty as needed. Some mouldings need putty even after sanding, it's just a fact of life.
 
I use a chopper not a saw. I don’t have a miter sander.

I stain (color) the corners before joining with my underpinner, but never seem to have the need to putty.

I only putty when I join using brads (infrequently) to hide the nail holes.
 
I can't believe we've made it this far without someone chiming in that if you have to putty or color corners, you are a crappy framer with crappy equipment that is poorly calibrated, yada yada yada. PAULSF
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I noticed that too. Wasn't that nice. (We came close a few times though!)

Thanks for all the tips on colouring white moulding.

I read on here a while ago that a Kiwi black shoe polish dauber doesn't leave the purple line that the Chartpak marker does.

I do know that the Chartpack blender (white cap) works like magic to remove any marker that gets on the face of the moulding.

Clive.
 
I pre-color about 80% of frames, and putty about 99% of frames. I try for the seamless look and have tons of pre-mixed putties.
 
Although I don't use an under pinner I'll chime in.

I color about 50% of my mouldings and also putty about 1/3 of my corners if necessary to get a seamless look. By coloring I mean rub a marker along the raw wood edge of the miter prior to joining the corner.

For touching up a joined corner I use oil colors because I can get much richer looking tones than with acrylics and acrylics dry way to fast for me.

On extremely contoured designs I match the mitered corners as best I can and then usually apply putty or Liberon Gilt Cream to mold and soften any obvious mismatches. Often I'll slightly carve the design to better match and then use oil colors to tone.

The above takes time, but I can't stand mismatched designs and do all I can within reason to give a more continuous look.

After a frame is done I sand the back of each corner to eliminate any glue seepage and make sure there is no ridge to show through the dust cover. Ridges are usually only a problem on very large mouldings.
 
One thing to keep in mind - if you colour the corners prior to joining - it is certainly more difficult on most profiles to visualize if the corner is indeed lined up during the positioning for joining. (The white wood shows clearly if its not lined up)

That is why I don't do it till later, except on the profiles that are quite ornate & don't exactly line up anyway.(like Dave said).

I find it pretty easy to use a marker on the corners after joinging - kills two birds (ends of moulding) in one go and immediatly after touchup I run my finger over it - gets rid of the dye from the marker on the finish painted surfaces.
 
I only colour corners on ornate mouldings and since getting my new vee nailer last year, have used putty on less than a dozen frames. Prior to that, putty was needed on 100% of frames.

I am very particular about joints. They need to look like they 'grew' together!
 
HB said:
I find it pretty easy to use a marker on the corners after joinging - kills two birds (ends of moulding) in one go and immediatly after touchup I run my finger over it - gets rid of the dye from the marker on the finish painted surfaces.
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Ever try those markers with a flexible tip that looks like a pointed brush? They get down in the groove easily, and are easier to maneuver than chisel-tip markers.
:cool: Rick
 
So what is the favorite brand of markers that you use? I personally like the water based Mr. Sketch, the especially the ones that smell like cinnamon and licorice.
 
Tombow ABT Dual Brush or Marvy LePlume. Prismacolor or Chartpak for chisel point permanent markers, and Behlen wood-stain markers from Rockler.
:cool: Rick

For bright colors, good old Crayola kids markers from Walgreens are good.
 
I read here once that using the Prismacolors or other markers other than stain markers are likely to fade over time, and the raw wood will show through again. That's why I switched to acrylic paints.
 
I too, putty and color. The matte black frames are the worst. After puttying those, ever so slightly, I use a clean cotton ball ever so lightly to avoid shinnying the surface. For the white frames, I have smooshed the white acrylic paint into the corner and then used a damp cotton ball to remove the excess.

I currently have a set of the LJ ink daubers. They seem to work pretty well. Is there any DIY potion for black?
 
Do whatever it takes to come out with a better frame than your last frame.

Ornate compo mouldings can be carved with a Dremel Tool, sandpaper, and utility knife to match up the design. Guilder paste is extremely handy for touching and minor filling of frame corners. Most compo frames have a rotten-stone wash for the antiquing. Mix this dry to match the manufacturers tone, use rotten-stone and dry pastels to get your color. If you add acrylic paint, you have a lot of guesswork and time to get it right. Also, if you can not get it exactly right, just re-wash the entire frame.

The end result, should always be a great looking frame. This is assuming that you are not running a high volume, low priced, crank em out operation. If thats the case, watercolor markers, metallic touch up colors. Don't mess around with it to much, just get it to fitting.

John
 
Since we're talking about "perfect" corners, on ornate patterns with build-ups, if the relief is made of gesso, you have to carve it. But, if the manufacturer uses the softer wood compo material, it can actually be made pliable using a blow dryer or shrink-wrap gun and molded by hand to help match the pattern.
 
I use pigmented markers from Crafts and More. They are mfg'd in Japan (Copic brand) and are refillable. The marker tips, one chisel point and one flexible brush point at either end, are replaceable. The refill bottles are about the same cost as the original marker and will refill the reservoir 10-12 times. I have learned to not overfill the reservoir, and to wear latex gloves when refilling. Huge selection of colors.
 
I have never liked the way putty's come off so easily. I mix up a batch of corner weld and acrylic paint to match IF I need to fill in. For the intricate profiles that don't match perfectly at the mitre, I incorporate sawdust into the mixture.....and it doesn't come off in your hands.
 
MJ The Romaboy said:
Since we're talking about "perfect" corners, on ornate patterns with build-ups, if the relief is made of gesso, you have to carve it. But, if the manufacturer uses the softer wood compo material, it can actually be made pliable using a blow dryer or shrink-wrap gun and molded by hand to help match the pattern.
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Wow, MJ ...I'll have to experiment with this one. Never would have thought of this technique. I would imagine you'd have to heat VERY slowly so as not to burn the finish.

This thread has opened up a whole bevy of new ideas which will undoubtedly slow my production down even further but eventually make it so I turn out "the perfect frame".

;)
 
Val said:
Color edges when needed, but I've been using waaay less putty (and therefore, less time). At the first sign of dull chopper blades (gaps, ragged edges, etc), they get changed (dull ones get sent in as soon as they come off, so no waiting). Also, keeping the channel in the back fence of the chopper filled with silicone has helped immensely with eliminating the need to fix chippy outside corners.


Sharp blades, in my opinion, are the answer for this framer.

Check your blades, Kirstie.
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We change blades regularly, but I had not read about filling the channel in the fence with silicone. As in out of a tube?? Tell me about this please.
 
Last thing before you leave the shop at night, silicone, from the tube, goes into the "channel" where the right and left sides of the fence meet in the middle, where the front of the blades come to a V. Smooth it in, wipe off the excess, let dry overnight, chop away. I repeat as necessary, as soon as I start noticing a raggedy edge. It works!

Edit: Oops.... yeah... what WizSteve said....Karen beat me to it. His is a better explanation anyway.
 
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