How to finish picture frame?

[Shaggy]

I've almost finished a couple of picture frames for my sister-in-law and she like the colour and patern of the unfinished wood. The pictures are planned for the bedroom at the moment, is there a way to protect the finish without changing the colour (clear varnish or lacquer still alters the colour a bit) or would it fine fine to leave the bare wood in a bedroom?

Glen.

 

[MikeG.]

You don't say what the wood is.

Leaving the wood bare doesn't generally mean the thing stays the same colour. There is literally nothing that can be done to finish wood without altering its appearance, and if you don't finish it, most woods will change appearance anyway.

 

[Shaggy]

You don't say what the wood is.

Sorry total newby, I have no idea on the wood it was a couple of old picket fence boards cleaned up and up cycled .

 

[mbartlett99]

The most neutral would be either shellac (blonde) or water based poly.

 

[ED65]

...or would it fine fine to leave the bare wood in a bedroom?

Yes you can get away with this for a time, but eventually the wood will become discoloured by dust and any handling.

If you want to finish and leave the wood virtually unchanged your best best is a matt water-bourne poly. Must be matt, as any gloss makes the coating obvious, but matt sort of disappears and you really can't see it on the wood. Make sure you mix thoroughly to evenly distribute the matting agent (this is a fine powder added to the gloss version of the same finish and it settles to the bottom of the tin).

If you don't have brushes, get synthetics for this. A foam roller is also very handy for any large flats the frames might have. Don't overwork the surface! This stuff dries quickly, especially the first coat when the wood is absorbing water from the finish like a sponge.

It can be a good idea to pre-raise the grain by dampening down with a clean cloth or sponge and plain water, and after the wood has dried lightly sanding with fine paper. You only want to remove the raised grain, no more. Best results are usually obtained if you do this more than once.

...a couple of old picket fence boards cleaned up and up cycled .

No in that, wood recycling is something loads of us do.

Many a member can't walk past a skip without peeking inside to see if there's a bit of wood free for the asking

 

[thetyreman]

you could leave it unfinished but at the minimum a sanding sealer would be a good idea, like de-waxed shellac.

 

[AndyT]

I believe that soap finish is getting fashionable, thanks to bloggers like Chris Schwarz writing about it, and is apparently close to being an invisible finish.
A picture frame might be a suitable small piece to try it out.

 

[Shaggy]

Thanks for the suggestions, lots to think about there.
As they are for sis-in-law I'll ask what she wants and maybe post a pic when finished