TBMC Framing Blog: April 2009

Gilders Paste is a product that truely has to be seen to be believed and for those of you that have been lucky enough to see the master that is Dave Wareham from AS&P demonstrating the product at our stand at the
Spring Fair and most the major US framing expo's you'll know why.

We first came across Gilders Paste in an Altlanta Expo, Dave was demonstrating and after seeing his demonstration we felt that it was a product that framers in the Uk needed to see and use.

Basically Gilders Paste is a wax based product that comes in 28 pre-blended colours including primary, secondary and metallic colours. These colours can be mixed together to make an endless colour pallete for highlighting moulding, blending in the join on the moulding, mending minor indentations or covering nail holes. You can add the paste using a brush, soft cloth etc, or my favourite, your finger. Bit more messy, but gives you more control and brings out the arty side in you! But which ever way you apply you can get a variety of different textures and finishes.

You can thin it out with a bit of white spirit and use a light brush to apply it like paint or use it as a colour wash or stain. Its very versatile!!

By gently polishing the paste you can get a shiny or gilded metal finish, so its ideal for the restoration of gilded frames, or to change a standard old and boring moulding into something more interesting and new. If you leave it unpolished the finish takes on a semi-gloss or matt finish depending on the colour you use. Its best to have a good play with it first and see what you can create!! We get the chance to have a good go at the fairs we do and it still astounds me what you can use it on. In SACA we coloured an entire mountcard in black and coloured some nicked mounts in too. We've even used it to colour a scratch on a canvas print that got caught on the bench......it was our own I hasten to add!!

The great thing about the product that puts it heads and shoulders above its peers is two fold for us. Firstly, dependant on how much you put on, it dries to the touch in around 30-60 minutes. And heres the clincher........if it dries out you just regenerate it by applying a drop of white spirit. No more wasted tins!!

The downside for us is that it lasts too long, so theres a gap in between you

buying from us!! But really, the product goes a mega long way. A 27ml tin will cover 30 square feet! and the 92ml 100 square feet.

The other great thing about this product is that its not only frames and canvas and mounts that it can be used on, but, i'm going to list them here.........on Antique restoration, Gildering restoration, Furniture, Finials, ornate fretwork, wought iron, steel, aluminium, alloys, plant pots, terra cotta, resin castings, plastics, candles, most other waxes, gourds, my grouting in my bathroom (its waterproof and made the the grout white again!!).

So it's not just framers that can use it. We've put a few pictures below on the other uses as listed above....not my bathroom though!!

So in short its a versatile little product that goes a long way and if you get it you'll wonder what you did without it and not just necessarily for your frames. It's on offer at the moment, but each small tin usualy costs only £4.99. If you want further information contact us on tim@tabmasteruk.com, 01530 836444