Finishing a large picture frame

[RaptrFlite]

newb alert!... be gentle

I just finished cutting/routing the 4 sides of a picture frame (45"x35"). I used 3" poplar from Lowes, so the wood already looks pretty good.The routing is nothing special, just beveled edges on the front, and cut the space for the glass and backer. I like the black satin finish on picture frames, so I was wondering where to proceed from here. I'm thinking I should put the frame together first and spline, glue, putty, then sand it smooth. From here I get lost with all the ideas I've read on the net. I don't want to paint it, I would rather it look more natural. It seems that for a consistent color, I need to apply a dye rather than a stain, Is this right? How would I go about finishing this off to have a nice black finish? Help on sandpaper grit would be very much appreciated too

Mike

[drumpriest]

You are on the right track, glue it together, run it through your TS blade with the point of the corners pointing down, and glue in a spline. That will give your frame strength. Black is a tough one, a dye is probably the way to go. For "satin" you have options. Either apply a finish that is satin, these typically have clouding agents added to diffuse the incoming light, or apply a gloss clear coat and rub it out to 0000 steel wool, then stop.

For a picture frame, that doesn't get much interaction, you'd probably do well with a simple polyacrylic finish, quick to dry, not so stinky. You'll want to sand to 220 grit, or even 320, and wipe with a tac cloth before applying your dye.

[cabinetman]

You wouldn't need to go higher than 320. Poplar doesn't have too much excitement with grain. If you use a black (sometimes called lampblack) waterbase dye, you can increase it's concentration as you like. With some slight grain raising, and black satin it could be real interesting. I would use a waterbase polyurethane in a satin finish. Try the whole process (including the dye) on a sample.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[RaptrFlite]

Thank you for the suggestions. Is "raising the grain" on something like
this simply a matter of sanding, or do I need to rub a little water into the
wood and let it dry?

thanx again for the help

[Crockett]

I don't know if you have a Rockler near you but they carry a line of finishing products called General Finishes that offer a category of colored stains. I have used the black on several picture frames I have made, a couple were also from poplar, and was very happy with the way they turned out. Here is the link:
http://www.rockler.com/search_result...neral+finishes

Al

[drumpriest]

To raise the grain you should mist it with water, let it dry, and then lightly sand it with a fine grit sand paper.

[drunkcat]

I had nice results with poplar using an "ebonizing" technique I found on the web (cant find the link). It was basically one coat of a water based dye (do the grain rasing thing) followed by a coat of minwax ebony stain. I finished with the minwax satin wipe on poly. It has a nice deep, but soft, black color. You can still see the grain, but no color from the poplar. Dye came from Rockler and the Minwax products from Menards.

Good luck.

Scott