Antique and Old Ivory Glazing

¶ Antique and Old Ivory Glazing. In any decorative finishing scheme the appearance of brand new shiny surfaces are a jarring note. Surfaces of furniture, wood trim, etc., are more artistic and more comfortable to live with when they have been mellowed by age and toned down a little from the glaring new effect. To gain this mellowed-with-age effect glazing is resorted to on new painted wood, and enameled wood, surfaces. The surfaces may be smooth, hard and polished, fairly rough or very rough as may be preferred.

¶ The color combinations used may be any which are in harmony with the surface and its surroundings, but raw umber and mixtures of raw and burnt umber and raw sienna are often used for antique effects. Only the colors which are semi-transparent are used. Colors ground in oil or ground in japan are used and are thinned with about one-third boiled linseed oil and two-thirds turpentine. The mixture is made quite thin. Less oil is sometimes used.

¶ The surface to be glazed is built up in the regular manner with paint and enamel, and when dry and clean the glaze color is brushed on with a flat wall brush; the surface ground should be flat, not glossy. Usually the glaze color is brushed on over the mouldings, at the edges of the panels, in the corners, on the carvings, etc. It is very thin. As a rule no glaze color is put on to the center of panels and other places which are to appear very light as the highlights of reflections.

¶ Sometimes the color of an entire paneled wall surface, for instance, is about right as near as the mixing of colors can make it, but still there is a raw, sharp appearance to the work which mars its beauty. In such a case the glaze coat is spread over the entire surface and is immediately wiped off with clean cloths. Just enough of the glaze color remains in the pores of the surface to take away that raw, sharp, new look which is objectionable. Sometimes the same method is employed to change the color hue of a surface a trifle by using a different glaze color, for instance, a brown surface-which is a bit too cold may be warmed up with a burnt sienna or other red glaze, a green which is too yellow can be benefited by a clear blue glaze.

¶ As a rule the glaze color is brushed on only to the surfaces which are to remain shaded and as soon as it has set a trifle it is wiped off rather deftly with clean cloths, wiping more near the center of panels and t boards and on high projections of mouldings, carvings, etc., than elsewhere, leaving the glaze color in the depressions untouched or stippled lightly with the wad of cloth or a stippling brush.

¶ To produce old ivory the ground coats of paint or enamel are tinted with raw sienna and a bit of burnt umber to a light ivory color. When dry the surface is glazed about the mouldings, carvings, etc., with a glazing color mixed from raw sienna and a little burnt umber ground in oil and thinned with 1/3 boiled linseed oil and 2/3 turpentine. Some finishers add a little melted beeswax to the glazing color. The ground coats in this case are usually rubbed dull with pumice stone and water, or they are composed of semi-flat drying enamel or full gloss enamel. In the case of full gloss it may be necessary to wipe over the parts to be glazed with a cloth wet with benzine before applying the color, so the color will take hold. When the color is on and has set a little wipe it over with clean cloths to remove the color from the high projections like moulding tops, carving projections, etc., leaving the color dark in the depressions.

¶ When glazing some new painted or enameled surfaces it will be found necessary to make the glazing color so thin that there seems to be no staining ability left. Sometimes a glaze of varnish, turpentine and a little linseed oil and no color is sufficient to color the surface the little needed.

Next Page: Rough Stipple Glazes.