If and hopefully when we get the CNC router, I’m looking to have a go at upcycling some furniture by adding some Art Deco style patterns to them.
Been looking at the brass inlay process, which would be relatively easy with a CNC router cutting the precise channels for you, but I’ve had a thought…
Would cold-casting (metal powder/resin paste) and then sanding down be an option? Could route a shallow channel, say 2mm, mix up whatever colour metal paste you like and then fill the channels. Once it goes off, take to the surface with a belt sander/orbital until the wood and resin are flush, wire wool the metal to bring the shine up and then seal the lot with a finishing wax.
Any thoughts or other suggestions on how to best achieve this effect?
Depends entirely on what effect you’re trying to acheive and what materials you’re working with:
if you are working with solid wood and can be sure of your accuracy and fit then solid metal is always going to look better than infil: however an infil with a resin or similar will completely fill the gap if done correctly.
In your case Dale, I’d check the furniture. If it’s like the older stuff I have at least part of it may be veneered, and as such sanding back would risk stripping the veneer back and trashing it.
Wire inlay might be a nice compromise, but again you’ve got to worry about accuracy in your cut and how you finish the surface.
I’ve always prefered inlaying wood (e.g. splines) as it can be a bit more forgiving and if it’s a flat surface you’re working with this might acheive a nice understated effect…
I think it’ll likely be veneered, but I wouldn’t be looking to sand back more than half a Mum tops, so might get away with it.
Suppose it’ll depend on the piece. If it’s an expensive old chunk of wood then it’ll deserve inlays. If it’s cheaper and nastier, infill it’ll be.
Either way, looking forward to experimenting. I’ll post when I’m gonna do it so other interested parties can be involved or even watch on to see if it’s for them.
Funnily I saved that vid earlier. I love the effect, but would be loathed to do such intricate work on the scales I’m thinking of. Hence the CNC and filler idea. Easy to to on a larger scale!
I never really thought cold casting could look that good until I saw this video - I don’t know how easy a gloss polish would be but the brushed look he ends up with looks really cool to me.
