Opinions Wanted Cockled/buckled watercolour

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kuluchicken

kuluchicken

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Apr 2, 2012
Posts
564
Loc
Auckland, New Zealand
I recently had a water colour to frame.

The artist obviously stretched it using gummed kraft tape (I'm not sure if that is the right terminology)

The gummed paper wasn't cut off afterwards, which caused the paper to buckle quite a lot.

What would you guys do...the customer does not see it as an investment and won't spend money on a conservator. Would you leave the gummed tape on, remove it gently with water, or cut it off if the owner requests that? Ultimately the customer wants it less buckled, she does understand that it won't flatten completely.
 
Get as much of the tape off as possible.

Then, using a damp sponge...(do not soak it!), wipe the back of the paper so it is just moist. Then put it into a heat press and press it for 4 or 5 minutes. It will come out dry and flat.
The moisture reactivates the fibers of the paper and relaxes it. Heating with pressure resets the fibers the way you want them.
 
I'd leave the tape in place so as not to damage the artwork any further, or cut it off at the customer's request if that doesn't damage the overall presentation of the art. But I say that in part because I'm not familiar with or comfortable with trying to remove the tape.

Framah, are you saying that it is possible to flatten watercolors that have not been properly stretched before they were painted? Or does that advice only apply to the specific situation we have here?
 
I would do as Framah suggested. Not all artist paint their watercolors with the paper taped down, so I deal with both situations on a regular basis.






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I dampen them slightly, then block them overnight between two layers of Artcare foamcore under a couple of McGaw catalogues (remember them?). Flattens them out, but what bothers me is that they lose some of the texture of the paper. Customer doesn't notice, but I do.
 
Thanks so much for the replies everyone, much appreciated.

I have a cold vacuum press. I also moisten it slightly from the back with distilled water, pop it in the vacuum press between two boards and then weigh it down overnight. That works very well too.

It would just have been a worthless exercise had I left the tape on in this particular instance. The customer said I should cut it off, I was just wondering what you guys would have done. I think next time I'm think I'll rub it off gently.
 
From what we do in our shop Framah has it correct if you have a heat press. If you have a vacuum press get some large sheets of blotter paper. Remove the tape, lightly mist the back and put it in the vacuum press between the blotter paper. Forget about it for for an hour or two. If it still feels damp (coolish) put it in for a while longer. Of course the heat press is faster. The blotter paper can be re-used in the future.
 
While the paper of the gummed paper tape is a problem, the adhesive may be the bigger one. It needs to be removed as much as possible to get and keep the sheet flattish. We do it with cotton swabs and spit and spatulas and blotting paper (covered with hollytex) and weights. It takes practice to remove it without 'skinning' the paper or otherwise disturbing the texture.

I suspect that dampening it and putting the whole in a press will only serve to drive the adhesive into the paper, where it won't ever be removable.
 
As an alternative to the heat press I usually flatten cockled artwork by spraying water onto a sheet of matboard so it is just damp, placing the artwork face up on the damp sheet with a dry one over it then putting a piece of m.d.f. and a few heavy items on top. Left overnight or even for a few days it is usually quite effective.

On the subject of the tape - leaving it on will guarantee that the cockling will return. Paper expands and contracts as atmospheric conditions and temperature change and if it is restricted at its outer edges it cockles, no doubt about it. The tape has to come off.
 
artfolio said:
As an alternative to the heat press I usually flatten cockled artwork by spraying water onto a sheet of matboard so it is just damp, placing the artwork face up on the damp sheet with a dry one over it then putting a piece of m.d.f. and a few heavy items on top. Left overnight or even for a few days it is usually quite effective.

On the subject of the tape - leaving it on will guarantee that the cockling will return. Paper expands and contracts as atmospheric conditions and temperature change and if it is restricted at its outer edges it cockles, no doubt about it. The tape has to come off.
Click to expand...

That's also a nice gentle way to consider doing it, thanks :)
 
On the other thread about teaching classes to artist, well I think this subject is ideal for letting artists know that framers are the "experts from afar" when it comes to knowing what to do with paper that has a problem. It has been my experience that most artist haven't got a clue about paper preperation before they begin their masterpiece and then the framer should fix the problem for the artist or the buyer. In years of owning an art gallery and dealing with artists when I mentioned preparation of the paper the artist looked at me as if I had two heads. One if the other things I ran into and frankly had a lot of fun with was doing preservation framing on this original masterpiece. The problem was that the artist had done his work on brown butcher paper because the color of the paper gave him just the effect he wanted. Guess what butcher paper will distroy itself overtime, so I helped the artist find a paper he could love and that could be preservation framed to the best of our knowledge at the time. These things can be interesting and sort of fun to deal with but it is necessary for the quality framer to be knowledgeable. I love this business!
 
If the paper had been stretched properly, it should not buckle. Some artists don't soak it for long enough prior to taping. Some don't soak it at all, just tape it. If they do this it will always buckle when painted on and stay like it.
A full sheet of paper will grow about 1/2" when saturated.
 
prospero said:
If the paper had been stretched properly, it should not buckle. Some artists don't soak it for long enough prior to taping. Some don't soak it at all, just tape it. If they do this it will always buckle when painted on and stay like it.
A full sheet of paper will grow about 1/2" when saturated.
Click to expand...

It takes too long to stretch WC paper, and it takes forever for it to dry, and I don't want to pay extra for 300 pound paper that doesn't buckle as much, and don't worry, the framer can take care of it.
 
From what I gather reading this thread, the tape does not overlay the painted image. If this is correct, I'd trim the tape edge off, which is what the artist should've done in the first place.
 
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