Photo: mattbellphoto / Flickr

Old picture and mirror frames tend to lose their pristine condition over time, especially if they are moved around a lot. If you’ve found a beautiful piece that needs some refinishing, give it a thorough cleaning before you start working on it. Use an old toothbrush, a soft cloth and a very gentle cleaner. Use turpentine to remove old, dirty wax. Don’t allow the frame to get too wet. Once cleaned, the frame’s moulding can be seen to.

Brighten up with metallic wax

Metallic waxes are water-based products that come in a wide range of colours, including gold leaf, bronze and silver. They are made of a mixture of metallic powder and pigment which are then set in a wax base. It’s worth spending some time in arts and crafts stores to see what will best suit your old picture or mirror frame.

To simply brighten up a frame, choose a wax that matches the frame in question. You may have to mix your colours to get an expert match. Place a little turpentine onto a soft cloth, followed by a small amount of wax. Since the aim is to brighten the frame and not obscure the original surface, use the wax sparingly.

If there are any nicks in the frame, touch them up with some of the wax. Finally, buff up the new wax coating so that you have a gleaming finish with a gentle sheen.

Highlight mouldings with gold-leaf wax

To highlight old mouldings, use gold-leaf wax. Add a little of the wax to a soft cloth and rub it evenly over the top of the mouldings. Don’t allow the wax to get into the base of the frame while you work. If the gold gets beyond the highest sections, you will lose the highlighting effect.

Use short backwards and forwards rubbing motions rather than long rubbing motions. Once you’ve highlighted the top layer of the frame, use a soft cloth to buff it down so that you have a wonderful new sheen.

Tags: antiques