Marquetry is the ancient art of decorating furniture with inlayed pieces of exotic woods or organic materials arranged in intricate patterns. Beverly DeJulio, host of HGTV's Homewise, and finishing expert Bruce Johnson demonstrate simple faux marquetry techniques on a small dresser. A pattern is stenciled on the dresser doors with gel wood stains, and a geometric design is drawn on a drawer with stain markers. A new dresser is first stained golden pecan to give the wood an old look. Then a pattern is stenciled on the panel doors of the dresser with gel wood stain. The thick gel stain, less likely to run than regular stain, works best when stenciling a vertical surface. Tape the stencil in place on the dresser door, dip a stencil brush into gel stain, and immediately dab off the excess stain on a paper towel or rag. Pounce the flat end of the stencil brush on the pattern until all areas are covered (figure A). Wood stains permit the grain of the wood to show through, giving the effect of inlaid wood (figure B). To create a marquetry pattern on a drawer, use a straightedge to draw the pattern with a pencil, then score all the pencil lines with a craft knife (figure C). Apply each section of stain with felt-tipped stain markers (figure D). The markers, filled with oil-based wiping stains in cherry and red mahogany, make the stain easy to apply, and the scored lines in the wood prevent the stain from bleeding into the adjacent sections (figure E). Protect all the stained surfaces of the finished piece with a coat of satin polyurethane.
RESOURCES :
Wood stains, gel stains, wood markers
Minwax Company (full name: The Thompson Minwax Company)
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458-1934
Phone: 201-818-7500
Fax: 201-818-7605
Website: www.minwax.com
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