Help Dent in Oil Canvas

[blackiris]

Customers has a canvas her husband set something next to and left a huge dent..........

It's NOT OF ANY VALUE......... we just need suggestions of getting the dent out.

It was painted in 1999... normal FEDRIX canvas....
I suggest putting near a warm heat vent to pop back...... but I'm not sure that going to help tighten it up.....like it usually does with giclee's......

Any advice? CONSERVATOR is not going to be an option. Thanks!

 

[Dave]

You can lightly mist or use a damp sponge with distilled water and then lightly weight the back of the canvas... use a blotter paper and a telephone book.

Several applications might be necessary, but it should do the trick.

 

[MIK]

Like Dave said only I mist the back of the canvas with the water around the area of the dent. usually works well, just don't get the canvas really wet!

 

[freakquency]

me too

Yep, water!
in mist form.

 

[Jim Miller]

Was it dented from the front or the back?

No conservation treatment? Let me guess...the customer has no idea how much it would cost, but whatever it is, it's too much. Right?

Maybe heat would work. Or maybe water would work. I'm sure you can find a way to at least improve the appearance of the dent.

And then the monkey will be on your back. In a year or two, when the paint discolors, cracks, or falls off the face of the canvas, she can bring that suddenly-priceless heirloom back and demand that you pay for the more-serious and more-costly repair.

You feel lucky?

 

[Dave]

Nic... you haven't stated how severe the dent is and as mik said the canvas should be dampened from the back... not the front!

If the dent is so severe that the paint surface is cracked I would in no way employ this method and would, as Jim cautioned, refer to a conservator.

I don't believe any heat by itself would help the situation.

There is a product that I sometimes use called Tight ' n' Up.

http://www.dickblick.com/products/tightnup-liquid-canvas-retensioner/

 

[Prospero]

If the bars have keyed corners you can try this:

Give all the keys a tap to get it really tight and then hold it (not too close and face up) over a boiling kettle.

It may work like magic or it may destroy the whole thing.

As Jim says - Do you feel lucky?

 

[blackiris]

Was it dented from the front or the back?

No conservation treatment? Let me guess...the customer has no idea how much it would cost, but whatever it is, it's too much. Right?

Maybe heat would work. Or maybe water would work. I'm sure you can find a way to at least improve the appearance of the dent.

And then the monkey will be on your back. In a year or two, when the paint discolors, cracks, or falls off the face of the canvas, she can bring that suddenly-priceless heirloom back and demand that you pay for the more-serious and more-costly repair.

You feel lucky?

I'm not stupid enough to do this for them........ plus I'm not even framing it.
It's their own art... they just wanted suggestions.

 

[blackiris]

As I told Dave on the phone......Looks like its a dent from the back.....
No cracked paint that I can see.
I will pass on the knowledge! Thanks!

 

[echavez123]

I second the motion on using "Tighten-Up" -- has worked wonders on loose canvas.

ernesto

 

[Not your average framer]

How much do you value your reputation?

If you pass on the advice on this thread to your customer and they screw up, there's always the risk that they will blame you and say as much to others either privately, or even on facebook, twitter, etc.

If as you say there is no money in this for you, but there could be an undefined and perhaps significant risk to your reputation, then I say don't take the risk.

It's not worth it!

 

[MaJa]

I think it depends on your area, your customer, and the art.

Saying, "This is an idea, I have no idea if it will work." would work better here then, "Sorry I can't help you."

That's just my opinion. If they get the impression that you care I think they are more likely to return and say good things.

 

[blackiris]

How much do you value your reputation?

If you pass on the advice on this thread to your customer and they screw up, there's always the risk that they will blame you and say as much to others either privately, or even on facebook, twitter, etc.

If as you say there is no money in this for you, but there could be an undefined and perhaps significant risk to your reputation, then I say don't take the risk.

It's not worth it!

SERIOUSLY..... give me a break.

As I said....... THIS IS THE CUSTOMERS ARTWORK...... they do NOT CARE!!!

They want an easy fix. Can we all get off our high horses now?

Same way with the person that just left.........she let me know.. OXY CLEAN took out the nicotine stains on a cross stitch.....
WHOOOOOOP DEE DAM DOO.... go for it.... but I'm not touching it!

 

[Jim Miller]

As I told Dave on the phone......Looks like its a dent from the back..... I will pass on the knowledge! Thanks!

Good strategy. And when you pass on the knowledge, you might also suggest they put a solid backing board on it. That minor provision probably would have prevented the damage in the first place.

In my limited experience, most damage to canvas art happens from the back, when it is off the wall.

 

[Rick Granick]

SERIOUSLY..... give me a break.

As I said....... THIS IS THE CUSTOMERS ARTWORK...... they do NOT CARE!!!

They want an easy fix. Can we all get off our high horses now?

Same way with the person that just left.........she let me know.. OXY CLEAN took out the nicotine stains on a cross stitch.....
WHOOOOOOP DEE DAM DOO.... go for it.... but I'm not touching it!

Nicole- these two statements seem incongruous. In the second one you wisely chose not to take potentially harmful actions on a customer's piece, but in the first you dismiss people's cautions about doing just that as "high horse". Of course we all want to be nice and helpful to everyone, but sometimes it ends up biting us in the ...posterior when something previously declared of no value to the customer suddenly becomes a treasured heirloom after someone ELSE has damaged it. Those commenters who are "saddled up" are just erring on the side of caution.
Rick

 

[mbboston]

SERIOUSLY..... give me a break.

As I said....... THIS IS THE CUSTOMERS ARTWORK...... they do NOT CARE!!!

If they don't care, why do they want to fix it? Who cares.

In any rate, we love easy fixes, it keeps us quite busy. If you put paint on any fabric, and then you stretch the fabric, when paint dries (and this could take years) you will end up with cracks and flaking.

 

[blackiris]

Nicole- these two statements seem incongruous. In the second one you wisely chose not to take potentially harmful actions on a customer's piece, but in the first you dismiss people's cautions about doing just that as "high horse". Of course we all want to be nice and helpful to everyone, but sometimes it ends up biting us in the ...posterior when something previously declared of no value to the customer suddenly becomes a treasured heirloom after someone ELSE has damaged it. Those commenters who are "saddled up" are just erring on the side of caution.
Rick

Maybe you should read all my posts... I'm not fixing the dent in the canvas either
........ not every single person wants to frame a coloring book page to museum quality's ..... not every customer cares about framing cardboard with painted with hookers green paint to last a life time.

As I stated ...this is the customers work..... they are fixing it..... not me.... I did what they asked... I'm not stupid.... I know when to get a conservator involved.

 

[blackiris]

If they don't care, why do they want to fix it? Who cares.

In any rate, we love easy fixes, it keeps us quite busy. If you put paint on any fabric, and then you stretch the fabric, when paint dries (and this could take years) you will end up with cracks and flaking.

Her husband leaned it against something and it has a dent.... she stated SHE WANTED TO FIX IT. Not every piece or art that has something wrong with it needs to go to a conservator.

 

[PaulSF]

I'd try to fix it for her. Seriously, what's the risk? The customer admits that the art has no value, she just wants the dent out of it. We're not talking about a tear in a Picasso, here. I'd call her tomorrow, tell her that you'll be happy to try out a couple of fixes you've learned about. She'll probably be thrilled and relieved, because she knows you have experience handling canvases and will do your best to take care of it. Indeed, she may even pay you $200 to frame it, so that it doesn't happen again.

Just because an asteroid could strike the Earth in the supermarket parking lot next to my apartment building doesn't mean it will.

 

[stcstc]

nicole i agree

you stated it wasnt worth anything but the client wants to have a go at fixing, all you needed was ideas from here NOT to be preached at


not everything that comes into a frame shop is worth treating with kid gloves, and worrying about to the Nth degree

we do have to be practical, and after all if we preach to every customer about fancy glass, etc then how much business will we actually loose because everything is to expensive

sometimes, a cheap frame, reg glass, and whitecore mount IS actually all thats needed.

 

[preservator]

canvas protection

As Jim mentioned, canvases need protection from the back and for that reason, museums routinely attach Coroplast of Macrolux sheets to the back of the stretchers on their paintings. This ensures that the protection is there, when the canvas is in the frame and when it is not.




Hugh

 

[05]

You need a little moisture, two flat surfaces, weight, and drying time.

A variant on what we would do here: mist out -not too heavily, the canvas does NOT want to get wet- a piece of blotter paper or soft matboard (an off-cut of Crescent rag should work), and put it in a plastic bag for a few hours to let the moisture even out. Put the canvas face down on some non-stick, smooth surface (plastic laminate should work, hollytex over more board is better). Put the moistened matboard on the canvas, then, if you can, a single piece of something like plywood or an off-cut of acrylic, then weight it down, evenly and not too heavily.

There IS the risk of the paint layer or primer de-attaching. Too much weight can alter the surface texture. There are *always* risks involved. Be sure this is understood.

I have a similar attitude to yours about going ahead and making a judgement call about what is worth saving forever and what isn't. We don't make it here, we work on what people bring us, and it runs the gamut.

 

[mbboston]

Her husband leaned it against something and it has a dent.... she stated SHE WANTED TO FIX IT. Not every piece or art that has something wrong with it needs to go to a conservator.

People frame and restore all kinds of stuff.
Large portion of our restoration work are things with little or no monetary value, but rather high sentimental value. The question is what is this artwork (or kids drawing, newspaper clipping...) worth to them?

This is why I would never say this is not worth framing or restoring.

 

[blackiris]

Thanks everyone for the comments. She will be in later today and I will pass the info along to her.

 

[Gilder]

I would apply 10% fish glue and iron it on low temperature, that should take most of it. If it doesn't help then fill what is left with varnish to create optical illusion of flat surface. Since it's inexpensive anyway. Hope it helps.