black beams

[Anonymous]

I have a mixture of very old oak beams (13th to 17th centuries ) painted black. The better ones were strippable (KlingStrip etc.) and look v nice but quite dark with a light coating of Osmo Polyx hardwax oil.

BUT

The other beams have proved unstrippable as they are so beetle eaten / filled etc. I need to get a matt (or at most satin) BROWN finish on them. Toby Newell mentions French Polish and Burnt Umber but this sounds as if the finish will be very glossy. I have heard of using a paint brush dipped in brown shoe polish and then white emulsion as producing a good effect. Anyone have any ideas - the beams surfaces do not show much grain as the black paint has been applied over old sooting etc.

Any help / advice appreciated

 

[Anonymous]

Why don't you try it?!

If you put enough pigment in to make an opaque finish it will be matt, very matt, what you are applying is finely ground er ground!

Regards

Toby Newell

PS Some of the suggestions cheer me up when I've had a hard day! Er applying emulsion with an implement coated in wax!!! you should definately try that one... on an old dustbin lid!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Toby.
Apologies for doubting your original suggestion ( I read the words 'shellac' and 'high gloss finish' in another article and panicked!). Will try it this weekend.

I did try the shoe polish / emulsion thing this afternoon as it happens. Produces a suitably streaky effect but it really depends which brand / shade of brown you use - one attempt was almost pink! - Don't worry I did my testing on an old bit of pine!

 

[Anonymous]

Pigments are ground up earth or rocks, shellac is extremely shiny but the addition of earth or rocks usually dulls things down a bit! If you want you can use a satin shellac to help. Mylands do a lovely satin matt polishes.

Toby

 

[Anonymous]

so, does the pigment / polish combination produce an streaky / grainy effect? I contacted Mylands who said I should use their Burnt Umber Emulsion instead - but this would be a very plain brown finish

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

I thought you were after a matt opaque effect??? There is not much difference between a matt emulsion and a pigmented polish except that whilst the emulsion may be easier to apply, the polish would be more forgiving of any contamination i.e. oil or wax (or oily paint) on the beams. I think Burnt Umber (sometimes called Turkey Umbers as it was originally imported via Instanbul) would definately be the colour.

The other good point about the pigmented polish is that you can put a little more polish in, or overcoat the finish to give a slight sheen, you may think you want dead matt but most times a subtle sheen adds a little life to the beams.

No, the pigmented polish will not give a streaky/grain effect if you apply it evenly with a nice brush (preferably a Zorino mop size 12 or 14) Why not buy a small sample of both and try them for yourself? Then you would be more confident next time, the polish and pigment will almost last forever if kept in a cool dark place.

Toby

 

[Anonymous]

If you want a beam that is black, rather than coated with something black, then apply a blowtorch, followed by a rub down with a fine abrasive pad. It's quite easy but practice on some scrap wood to get the hang of how many seconds you need for the darkness you want. (Try not to burn down too much of the nations heritage.)

 

[Anonymous]

...or if your insurer has a weak heart you could try vegtable black pigment...

Toby

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Toby - I will. Thank you too for your patience in answering my questions.