Most of our mantels are displayed in a faux glazed finish.  Here are products you can use to achieve this look. 

1.  Primer: Any primer will work but I've always liked Kilz.  I personally like to add a little tint to it instead of having white.  Not too much just a little brown to give it an aged look.

2.  Lightweight Spackling:  If needed fill the tiny pinner nail holes with lightweight Spackling.

3.  Sanding Sponges:  These are used after the primer coat.  Make sure you get the mantel as slick as you can before applying the sanding sealer.

4. Sanding Sealer:  The Sanding Sealer will create an extremely slick surface to apply the glaze to.  Make sure you thoroughly apply the sanding sealer or the glaze will stick to the mantel on contact, not allowing you to create the exact look you want.

5.  Glaze:  I like to go very dark brown on the glaze.  Apply the glaze all over the mantel and wipe off however much you like. 

6.  Rags:  You will need a lot of them to wipe the glaze off properly.

7.  Lacquer or polyurethane:  I strongly recommend using the spray can.  This part of the process protecst the finish and locks in the glaze.