Alongside our gold leaf and gilding supplies we also offer a large range of products for all sorts of decorating jobs, both interior and exterior but today we’re going to focus on wood and furniture finishing, particularly General Finishes Gel Stains, a product recently introduced to our online shop. Gel Stains are perfect for finishing difficult woods such as aspen or pine or for up-cycling old or reclaimed furniture. It’s formulation of pigments, oils and urethanes combine to produce a heavy-bodied gel that dries to a durable and lustrous “hand-rubbed” finish. It comes in a variety of colours that can be freely intermixed to create the perfect shade for your project. Using Gel Stains to create a gorgeous finish couldn’t be easier, as this guide demonstrates, and our online store has practically everything you need to get started on your first project with them. As an example to get your creative juices flowing check out this tabletop finished by Luke Black Ltd, fine furniture finishers and restorers.
A newly-made walnut table, distressed and finished by the team at Luke Black Ltd using Gel Stain.
Luke Black and his team are experts when it comes to creating gorgeous finishes on furniture, solid wood floors and internal and external joinery, ranging from the classic to the contemporary. They’ve worked with some of the best designers and clients in the world to create fantastic, high-class finishes tailored to suit their clients needs. Alongside traditional wooden finishes they also specialise in gilded and glass gilded work, check out pictures underneath for some stunning examples of their work.
Macassar Ebony & Silver Leaf Coffee Table lovingly finished by Luke Black Ltd. Image Credited to Hugh Gaspar Furniture.
A cigar box with a striking, gilded finish. Gilded by Luke Black.
While enhancing and highlighting the grain and colour of wood is one way to finish it, another way is to transform it into something else entirely! With Liquid Metals Acrylics you can transform a plain wooden carving into a shimmering golden-looking one – it’s just like alchemy! Liquid Metal Acrylics takes particularly well to wood and can be brushed, rollered or sprayed and is available in a wide palette of metallic shades.
Using Liquid Metal Acrylics Silver Blush this previously golden carved frame has been transformed!
A wooden picture frame that has been overpainted with Liquid Metal Acrylics Pewter paint to create a realistic metallic finish.
A previous golden picture frame that have been overpainted with Liquid Metallic Acrylic paint to create a subtle silver verde finish.
The picture frames above were finished by Clare Lewis. Clare is a gilder and restorer with over twenty years of experience working with antiques and also working alongside architects and interior designers. She’s done some fabulous work which you can see on her site – when she says she’s willing to gild anything she means it!