Fire place mantel restoration
I’m trying to restore an original trompe l’oeil marble on my mantels. Does anybody has the same mantel piece that was never painted over? Would love to see it. Does anybody know the painting technique that was used originally?
I’m trying to restore an original trompe l’oeil marble on my mantels. Does anybody has the same mantel piece that was never painted over? Would love to see it. Does anybody know the painting technique that was used originally?
Gale.
Iam currently in Argentina. I was able to recover a family property that was basically stolen by squatters.
I was able to have them evicted. In revenge they took a hammer to the mantle and surrounds of a wonderfull slate marblised fireplace.
I too was fooled thinking it was marble. I have most of the pieces and would liketo reproduce the original finish. Would you beso kind as to send me a lint to that manual you mentioned ?
Thanksso much
Gale, I have some more info if you want to email me.
Wow. Very interesting. I would like to know more about this topic too. If you want, you could email me at moparbrownstoner at gmail.
Thank you for the links mopar, I remember that lively discussion.I’ve learned a lot.The technique was discussed, but in very general terms and I wondered if anybody had a professional knowledge on what kind of “tricks” were used. I wish I could see the never painted mantle up-close (pictures don’t do justice to the craftsmanship). To answer your question I have to tell you it was very tedious and painstaking process. I used razor blades scraping carefully so that not to damage the trompe l’oeil. We have six fireplaces in the building, two in each apartament. So I spent at least one box of 100 blades to scrape 5 of them,on the first one I used ROCK MIRACLE and jt stripped everything down to the stone(I had no idea these mantles had such beautifull faux marble). It was really a labor of love I don’t know if it would pay to do it commercially ‘couse it took forever.
Gale, this was covered in paint and you uncovered it? How did you do it? What was your technique for removing the top layers of paint while disturbing the original finish as little as possible? Thank you so much!
Yes. See this brownstoner post for the photo:
http://bstoner.wpengine.com/forum/archives/2009/01/date_the_slate.php
and this one for a discussion of the painting technique:
http://bstoner.wpengine.com/forum/archives/2009/05/need_advice_art.php
Got it. My understanding is that the basic technique involves brushing a feather over the surface to create the look of marble “veining.” Judith and Martin Miller are two British antique and period house detail experts. They have a book called PERIOD FINISHES AND EFFECTS you might want to consult. Search amazon for other similar titles — there are many more. Perhaps the central library at GAP stocks a few of them. And Pintchiks used to have free brochures to accompany the line of decorative paint finish products they sell.
I’m not repaintig, I just would like to fill in the missing patches. I scraped many layers of paint, but was able to save the original trompe l’oeil. I guess I’m really interested (historically)in the actuall technique that was used. I’m not a beginner, but I was almost fooled by the quality and realism of the painted marble.
I may be confused — your mantels are currently stripped and you want to repaint them in trompe l’oeil style? The mantel in the pic above looks great but I guess it’s hard to tell from a photo. Anyway our house had its original marbleized mantels (the Victorians felt slate and dark-toned marble shouldn’t be seen) but we stripped them because the finish was so deteriorated. If you want instructions on marbling, there are many books on the subject. PAINT MAGIC by Jocasta Innes is a good one (not just about marbling, it covers the whole gamut of decorative paint finishes). Meanwhile Pintchiks and Gracious Homes sell a whole range of brushes, sponges, feathers, special paints and glazes that are used. I’ve never tried doing it myself but I understand it’s not too difficult.