One of my most recent thrift store purchases was this precious Victorian print and even more precious and elegant frame. I spotted it thrown haphazardly on a shelf being propped up by random, unremarkable, run of the mill thrift store items. It was dusty, drab and half falling out of the frame,with multiple chips out of it's paint and the decorative raised areas made of gesso. This of course didn't deter me from
taking possession of my new found treasure. Gingerly carrying it to the clerk ,being careful to maintain it's state of disintegration with glass and print falling out of the frame and asked "How much do you want for this old thing." " $5.00" was the answer.
Dilemma... what to do with all the chipped gesso that left glaring white blemishes which were equally garish in the chipped green paint...once I got it home.
Idea...rebuild the gesso design with spackling compound. This I did ,I even used the kind that was pink when applied and turned white once it dried. Oh the miracles of this modern civilization!
This a delicate job to perform to make it look like the rest of the design,but one can come up
with a close approximation with the right tools. I had a fine pointed dental too l(just happened to have it on hand,don't we all have one of those laying around the house?)
Once the gesso(spackling) was dry I finished it off with Antique Gold Rub n Buff, great stuff that you just rub on with your finger tips.
Dilemma # 2 ..how to repair the chips in the green paint. The solution was simple enough, just match the color by mixing some tempera paints.. which worked quite fine.
The finished product is very pleasing and looks great on a wall near one of my hanging candelabras.
This is actually a very large French Style mirror that I repaired in a similar manner. The design was a little more intricate but the repairs are barely noticeable, the price can't be beat, $9.00 at good ol' Goodwill.
