Short Rant

If it's not house paint- Paint should come in a tube. Putty should come in a cup or can container. When will manufacturers get that right? Ugh! :D

Lack of Shellac

I love shellac! Did you know it comes from lac bugs? Yes, Bugs. Just goo they create though--not the actual bug. And it makes a wonderful coating for wood and other surfaces. It even smells kind of nice (even though you  shouldn't breath the vapors).  I don't know why it's so overshadowed all the poly and urethane stuff on the shelves.  I use it a lot...
Last weekend I used it on wood chairs and a cast metal floor lamp. At work I used it mixed with pigment to match the color and sheen of an 18th century Chinese lacquered sewing table. It's versatile and easy to work with in most cases. It dries really fast--great for someone like me who wants to get right on with the next step or just be finished.
If you have trouble with brush marks, it can be thinned and smoothed with denatured alcohol or 190 proof spirits...

Acrylics over oils? Really? No.

Acrylics over oils? Oh my......No! I just read somewhere on the wonderful wacky web that it would be fine...well....No. But you can use shellac or shellac based primer over the oil based and then acrylic over that and the world will stay in one nice piece much longer.  Oil and water don't stick together well. Oil paint oxidizes and sorta keeps doing that for who knows how long. If you put water based paint (unless magically formulated- as some are) it will soon come off the oil.
If you're painting on canvas, forget the shellac. Too brittle. Just stick stay with oils. It's more fun anyway.

Mirror Mirror

So what if you have a great big heavy mirror? Skip the wire. Use D-rings with 3 or 4 screw holes. The package or product description should tell you how much weight they can handle. Attach them about a 3rd of the way down. Measure the distance between the center of each D-ring. Mark the wall and use a level make sure they're...you know- level. Put in anchors and screws where you made your marks and get someone to help you hang the mirror directly from the D-rings.
                                        Don't use wire don't use wire don't use wire.

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Wire, Rings and Screws...Oh My!

Tomorrow I'll be attaching hardware and hanging paintings so I'll start with something on my wish list. The Makita LXFD01CW cordless drill (buy one!). There are a few similar models as well. I have a couple drills. One with a cord and one without. They're OK... but the Makita is dreamy! It's perfect for a small person. It doesn't weigh a ton and it is Super Power. Gotta have one.
Once you have one of those drills in hand, you'll want to screw everything. So while we're on the subject (picture hanging not screwing), forget the silly old screw eyes. I recommend some good D-rings. Best to get the ones with two holes. You want them to stay upright. Not sideways. It seems silly for light weight art but if you want to be proper, that's the way to do it. Unfortunately not all packages of D-rings come with screws. I find 6x1/2" screws are what I reach for the most but you should use the longest screw possible that won't poke through your frame. And I like the pan heads or round heads...they just look nice even though they don't really need to. Put the rings on about 1/3 of the way down. Next you'll need some good picture wire (buy). Don't be tempted to waste money on those stupid little hanging kits at the everything-you-don't-need-to-do-it-yourself-center. Unless it's the last minute and you can't wait for an overnight package, it's a horrible ripoff. There's also the temptation to buy wire that isn't braided. It might hold up for a while but it'll break soon. It'll also hurt your fingers a lot more. The coated stuff isn't necessary but it's nice. If you get a big roll of heavy duty wire you can use it on everything. Loop it through the D-ring twice and wrap the short end tight around the other. Pull the wire tight as you can and fasten on to the other D same as the first. All done! Now you can screw another one.

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