Preparation
We use sandblasting as a method of preparing wooden furniture for painting or waxing.  Most of our units are sandblasted to one degree or another before we move on to painting or waxing. After sandblasting we use hand sanding methods to smooth the surface of the wood where no texture is wanted.

Priming and Painting

All of our units are primed before applying the top coats. 

The purpose of priming is to help the paint adhere the piece better and also to cover any areas of discolouration or bleed staining.  It also reduces the number of top coats required and improves the final colour of the paintwork.

Our standard method of painting is to using a spray gun in order to produce a near flawless finish.  We rarely apply our paint by brush.  Spray painting is much quicker than applying by brush or roller and contrary to perceptions it also uses less paint as it is applied thinner.  There are no brush marks and the natural grains and contours of the wood remain visible

Although we are quite happy to use any form of paint on our products, our standard is to use Autentico Versante Eggshell.  Versante Eggshell has been tried and tested in all weathers and holds a high scratch resistance – perfect for exterior and interior use
Protection
Bare wood and chalk paints must be protected before being used.  We do this by applying wax or varnish.
Autentico furniture waxes are produced to an old Dutch recipe containing bees and carnauba wax, providing decorative protection to furniture. The range consists of 16 colours from traditional waxes, metallic pigments and extra chalk for depth of colour. 

Use with a variety of Autentico Paint colours for a truly unique finish, or simply over bare wood for added protection.

Products
We are authorised Autentico Paint Stockist.   Delivered direct to your door within 2 - 5 working day, via our on line ordering system.

The Autentico Range consists of the following products:
Country Cottage Style
A quintessential country cottage is untouched by time and surrounded by rolling hills.  Occupants have an outdoorsy lifestyle and an appreciation of the simple things, away from the rat-race of city dwelling. The interiors tend to be practicable with floral prints, neutral colours and mix and match furniture styles incorporating original features, natural wood and materials.

When looking to create the country cottage style in a modern home use authentic pieces of vintage furniture, with a two tone finish, combining painted and natural wood.  Mix and match dining chairs and paint in the same colour to bring balance and conformity to the set.  Alternatively, flip this idea on its head with a set of matching chairs painted in contrasting natural colours   Don't forget to add a touch of colour with the odd brightly painted accent piece.

Retro / Scandinavian Chic Style
Looking back to the 1950's. 60's and 70's when it comes to furniture, can evoke whole mix of emotions. This era saw the dawn of plastic molding, flat packed furniture and geometric brightly coloured patterns. This is the start of the throw away society, and because of this attitude to "stuff" there really is not a great abundance of good condition original retro furniture left.  By the 80's it was all considered tacky and kitschy and by the 90's most of it had been disposed of in landfills.

If you are lucky to come across original retro furniture, particularly those made by G Plan, Ercol and other Scandinavian designers then you have found yourself a gem.  If they are in good condition, made of a lighter coloured wood, then restoring back to their original form is just perfect.  However, there is now a growing demand to paint this furniture to create a Scandinavian Chic Style with bold, or monochrome, colouring and geometric shapes which originally would have been found on the walls, floors and soft furnishing, not on the furniture itself.

Driftwood Style
Wood that is floating on the sea or has washed ashore is known as Driftwood.  It tends to be large tree trunks or smaller branches, bleached by the sun and eroded by the sea and sand. However, old timber structures and other man made wooden objects also find their way into the sea via storms or through poor waste management.   Its organic nature is perfect for an assortment of crafts, with larger pieces made into a variety of different coastal style items of furniture.

The driftwood effect, however, can be artificially recreated onto almost and piece of wood.  Here at Twixtmoors we use a sandblasting technique which will remove softer areas of wood grain to produce a textured finish associated with natural driftwood.   Bleaching, white washing, liming and dark wax is then used to produce the desired colour.  Driftwooding is effect we often deploy on solid wooden tops and draw fronts and is an ideal way of removing very large flaws and knocks and incorporating them into the final design.

Shabby Chic
Original shabby chic items have often been heavily painted through the years, with time worn, rubbed and chipped areas of paintwork showing its history from years of use.  The creation of chalk paints in the 1990's made imitation of this style mainstream by painting then rubbing and sanding away the top coat to show the wood or base coats, known as "distressing" the finish.
 

The most important thing to remember with Shabby Chic styling is that the furniture you choose should only look distressed.  It should be sturdy well built furniture in structurally great condition.  There is absolutely no point putting your money in to something that won’t be functional for very long.