About once a month I bring new life to old frames. Today I had 16 old window frames and 15 old picture frames to resuscitate. Many of the old window frames came from my own home which is a renovated 100 year old school house. Other frames have been collected over the years from Grandpa Chapman in his landlord days and from our Cabin on Higgins Lake. I regularly visit the Salvation Army and Garage Sales for picture frames. Many of the frames I find are professionally done from years ago. They are not the "Made in China" Frames we see today. Under the dust is nice quality wood ready to be rediscovered. That is where I come in.
I took some pictures to give you an idea of what is involved. I decided to remove all the glass from the windows, leaving just the frame. Very old glass is almost impossible to get very clean and it's more difficult to clean the frame with the glass in it, so bye bye glass.
CRASH! CRACK! SHATTER! SHATTER!
These were the sounds in my neighborhood today. (they love me)
I however was able to RELEASE.
Ahhhh! Quite therapeutic.
Next comes removing all remaining caulk. I use a putty knife. It could come right off if it is really old or relatively new or it could take a bit of finesse if it's somewhere in-between.
(like most everything else in life, I just plan on scraping)
Old wood ALWAYS needs a good bath. I use warm soapy vinegar water and a sponge to wash , a garden hose to rinse and the sun to dry.
In the meantime I went to work on the picture frames, removing pictures and glass, sanding, cleaning, staining and varnishing. They are now drying also. When the window frames are completely dry tomorrow I'll finish them off as well.
Here are some previously refurbished frames hanging in front of me as a reminder that all this work is worth it.
