Building surfaces for artists. Masonite etc.

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karlokerz

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It seems there is quite the demand for custom made panels for painters these days. Suddenly I find myself building more panels than frames. I want to make sure I'm using the right materials as some of the pieces are going to a museum. I keep finding conflicting information on the interwebs in regards to the longevity and impurity content of masonite.

The way I've been doing it: Clear pine 1x2 strainer and corner bracing, masonite face... glue, clamp, flush router, sand. These materials are super inexpensive, and seem to have held up after painted, even 2 years later.

I've read maybe I should be using MDF. Eh?

Also I've gotten a request for a plywood faced panel (4'x4') that will have portions of it painted but not primed on the face(primed on the back).

I myself have refrained from priming these panels myself due to all the variables of different mediums being applied. Also its just a pain in the neck.

Whadya think guys? Am I doing this right? I'd be so embarrassed if these start warping off the wall years down the road, or if the masonite de-laminates and swells in the corners. This seems to be the main concern of my clients, but there's so many factors that come into play. Nothing bad has happened...YET.
 
Everything about this is a contradiction. If the artist has the desire to create something that can hang in museums and stand the test of time they need to rethink everything they are using.
 
What I use is untempered masonite, 1/4 inch, rough sanded, and depending on size, strainers or not. 1st coat is RS glue, brushed, actually scrubbed into the surface, about 40 grams of glue to 20 oz. of water. 2nd. coat is gesso; whiting combined with the above RS glue, again scrubbed in but "licked off", with the brush. The first two should be very thin. Additional coats are sprayed on in crossing patterns, usually 2-3. By scrubbing in and "licking off", one gets good penetration, and no pinholes.

As best I know, it is very durable in interior use; as an artists panel, it has been in use for almost 80 years, with traditional gesso coatings as described above.

I don't think 1/4 inch ply would be as durable, nor as warp resistant as the masonite type product. MDF and "masonite" are essentially the same, just varying in thickness, where as plywood is veneers of wood.
 
Masonite by itself is pretty stable. I have photographs wall papered to Masonite and wrapped around the edges that were done in the early 70's, they still look good.

Masonite "braced" with 1x2's or whatever will warp due to differential swelling. Masonite is fairly stable, pine is not.

MDF is junk, and very heavy junk at that. It is almost impossible to get a good seal on the cut or exposed edges, anything you do to seal the edges will fall apart in short order.

Thin plywood will warp, and soon, no matter what you do. Go look at the piles of thin plywood and doorskins at Lowes.

The use of any of these materials just about guarantees that museums and collectors will view any such artwork as potential basket cases.

I just looked at an exhibit of paintings covering the Turner to Cezanne period. Of the two pieces that were done of plywood, one had crinkled into little 1/32" x 1" slivers surrounded by cracks, and the other one had been replaced by a giclee, it was so delicate it had been withdrawn from the show!
 
I have framed a lot of work for artists who work on MDF panels. And these guys aren't amateurs. I have had 12x10s that they sell for maybe 5K each. (Pounds that is). All properly sanded and primed of course.
I wouldn't like to go into the possible long-term stability of MDF. It does have one very great advantage over plywood though. Woodworm love plywood. Never seen woodworm in MDF. :p

Painting on 'proper'wood panels is an old convention. (Mona Lisa. :thumbsup:)
But it's all down to the stabilty of the wood. In years gone by wood was stacked to air dry for years on end. Today's stuff is dried in kilns to reduce the moisture content. Not the same thing as long term seasoning. OK for constructional timber maybe. Not so good for painting grounds.
 
I'm not sure they even make a tempered "masonite" still, as the brand itself has ceased. Mostly what I see is hardboard, and generally untemepered.

Tempering was a factory applied, oil coating that supposedly made the board more resistant to problems from moisture. For artists purposes, it also would be more resistant to the gesso penetrating and having a good bond with the panel. "Masonite", like "Xerox" and "Kleenex" has become the generic word to describe thin hardboards; MDF and HDF are usually 1/2" or thicker panels, somewhat specialized for the cabinetmaking trades.

My feeling is that most of the problems involved with artist use of hardboard comes in the first step, how well the ground is applied; sanding to produce a roughened texture, penetration of the initial coats are very important. Sanding removes surface dirt and oxidation, allowing the coating to penetrate.

Coat both sides equally, and you can probably go to 24 x 30 without the need for or added problems associated with strainers.
 
I suppose the strainers are requested as an aesthetic. The visual weight making it look nice in a gallery without actually framing the piece. What wood do you recommend for the strainer? Bass seems pretty soft and could get beat up in transit. But the clear pine I'm using is wrong isnt it?

Thanks for the input. I've learned a bunch in the last few hours.
 
And don't forget hollow core doors for those panoramic paintings. Quite a bargain actually and remarkably light for the size and rigidity. Used to be able to get Masonite skinned ones, haven't seen those in a while now they all seem to be Luann.
 
Masonite skinned at HD.... just called.

the term Luann is "dated" and "prejudicial".... Mahogany door skin is the PC term.
 
Baer can tell you how to make real panels. No, those are some #### fine anconas.

Il Libro dell' Arte - Cennino D' Andrea Cennini. The Craftsman's Handbook. The Italian "Il Libro dell' Arte." Translated by Daniel V. Thompson, Jr. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1933, by Yale University Press.


Notes 1-50


2. By ancona is to be understood a compound panel, one with its moldings integrally attached. It may be large or small; complex, as a polyptych, or merely a "self-framed" panel. The tavola, the simple "panel," has no moldings.
 
Terry Hart cpf said:
Baer can tell you how to make real panels. No, those are some #### fine anconas.

Il Libro dell' Arte - Cennino D' Andrea Cennini. The Craftsman's Handbook. The Italian "Il Libro dell' Arte." Translated by Daniel V. Thompson, Jr. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1933, by Yale University Press.


Notes 1-50


2. By ancona is to be understood a compound panel, one with its moldings integrally attached. It may be large or small; complex, as a polyptych, or merely a "self-framed" panel. The tavola, the simple "panel," has no moldings.
Click to expand...


WOW. That there is a wealth of info. Amazing.

Found an online copy.

http://www.noteaccess.com/Texts/Cennini/index.htm
 
It's a great book. That Cennini knew his stuff but I don't think he ever worked with masonite.
 
Terry Hart cpf said:
It's a great book. That Cennini knew his stuff but I don't think he ever worked with masonite.
Click to expand...

No, but I'm sure if felt he needed Masonite, he would have figured out how to make it. With lamb bones and bark and ox blood or something.
 
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