Do you ever give up?

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pictureframingpro

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Mar 29, 2008
Posts
612
Loc
Port Orchard WA
I am about to give up.
I have have blown off the table with the air gun, I have vacuumed the table, I have used tape on the mat, buffed the smudges out of the glass, ready to tape and there ON THE BLACK SUEDE MAT, UNDER MUSEUM GLASS, 50 million white dust spots.

Am I being way to critical? when do I give up and hope the customer doesn't notice?

BTW, I have been working on this for an hour and a half straight, taking a break right now so that I don't throw anything across the room. I'm alone right now so the cussing is alright:fire::icon9::vomit:
 
Walk away from it. You need a Dr. Pepper break. Things always look better the next day and you will be ready to roll up your sleeves and get that puppy done.

Been there, done that.
 
I always do Museum Glass first thing in the morning, before the day's activity has stirred up too much dust.

Some days, though, nothing goes right, and you just have to put everything down and surf the web for the rest of the day.

Today I had a suede mat, and there are two little white specks. I went at them with tape, rubbed my finger across them, tried all sorts of things. I think they are just flaws in the mat fabric, so I'm leaving them. I'd probably destroy the mat trying to get rid of them, and then I'd have to recut the darn thing.
 
object lesson: don't sell black suede mats

My Dad had an analogy:
Q: "Why are you hitting yourself in the head with a hammer?"
A: "Because it feels so good when I quit!"

This is from someone who has framed things with black silk velvet. There is no fabric less forgiving.
 
wpfay said:
object lesson: don't sell black suede mats

My Dad had an analogy:
Q: "Why are you hitting yourself in the head with a hammer?"
A: "Because it feels so good when I quit!"

This is from someone who has framed things with black silk velvet. There is no fabric less forgiving.
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I hear that. Unfortunately, we have 2 locations, and the guys at the other location designed this piece. I am the one that has to do all the work. I have an appointment with a customer over there this evening, I am pulling the black suede mat sample off their rack!!!!
 
Richard Darling said:
First, walk away and do something else for awhile, a long while.

Second, employ the 1-foot rule: If you can't see it from more than a foot away, it's not there.
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I do the walk away or wait until the next day too. I also cover the work surface and the floor in front of it with kraft paper and also use the arm's length unless I know it's for one of those customer's who stick their nose on the glass to get a closer look. :icon9:
 
I like black suede...

so, this is how I deal with it.

1) vacuum the table top (carpet)
2) spray static guard
3) place brown kraft paper on top
4) vacuum with brush the sued mat
5) dust glass lightly with static brush or with my static guard gloves
6) place glass on top

works every time! very little frustration now. MUCH frustration without these steps.

my 2 cents

Elaine
 
When your working by yourself, you do have a tendency to obsess on things that are not all that noticeable. You do not have anyone to look at your work and tell you it looks good. Black suede and museum glass are the prime ingredients for picture framing nightmares, not an easy combination at all.

Danny boy & Richard have the best advise, give it a rest, go do something else. If you keep messing with it, you may find yourself replacing everything, including the glass. Obsession can rapidly turn into a vendetta. Don't let it get that far, take a break from it.

John
 
I would recommend a sticky lint roller. Works great.
 
Paul Cascio said:
I would recommend a sticky lint roller. Works great.
Click to expand...

Amen to that!
Ours is a life saver.

Have you thought about just taking it out in the parking
lot and driving back and forth over it a few times?
After that, those little white crumbs won't stand out
so much.

I still use black suede when it's right for the job.
I charge a special fitting fee so that any extra time
spent on it seems less evil to me.:icon45:

Now and then there is a job that totally fries my patience,
or seems like one mistake after another. At that point,
I set it aside for awhile and go do another job.
A simple, fast one just so I can feel something good
is still possible in this dark framing universe.
 
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Use the lint roller. And when you see only about 20 of those hair pulling specks..... fit into the frame with only one or two points on each side. Turn it up and stand it up as it will hang on a wall.

Only go after the ones that still show at this time.....

This little tip is why at 56, I still have so much hair. :D
 
Yep, I have also been known to down tools and walk away from a job which is giving me a pain in the you-know-where. It is surprising how often you can struggle with something in the evening, chuck it in and go home then come in the next day and finish it is a jiffy. The morning brain is usually much sharper.
 
PaulSF said:
Today I had a suede mat, and there are two little white specks. I went at them with tape, rubbed my finger across them, tried all sorts of things. I think they are just flaws in the mat fabric, so I'm leaving them...
Click to expand...

This is where a touch of black pastel or a light touch with a Sakura Pigma Micron can come in handy.
 
I’ll echo the advice about the lint roller. I use one on every piece of cross stitch and suede – even if I can’t see anything on the surface.

I would suggest an Evercare Washable roller. It has a bit less tack than those masking tape jobbies and doesn’t pull up the fibers as aggressively. When you’re through with it, just rub some hand soap and water over it and the lint slides right off.

I got mine on-line.

It’s either that or drink yourself to the point where everything gets blurry.
 
The framers at the shop I am currently employed at turned me onto a fancy little trick. Those foam paintbrushes (for crafts and whatnot) brush dust off suede mats nicely.
And I always clean my museum glass and use a static brush. I never just use it out of the box, and just buff out the small spots I get on it. It seems to have a lot of static straight from the box and makes cleaning a nightmare!

And yes, you just might be being a little too critical. I'll echo the sentiment that if you hang it and it's not bad,then let it go. The customer will not be seeing it on the table hunched over it.
 
Grumbling Mike said:
there's another spot over there! -------------------> [size=+3].[/size]
Click to expand...

Oh, yeah! I see it now. I'll take a shot of bourbon. That ought to help.
-------------------> [size=+2].[/size]

It's getting better. Just one more, please.
-------------------> [size=+1].[/size]

Jush one more tiny liddel drinky poo.

-------------------> .

It's almosh there. Ish looging mush better.

------------------->

There we go! Ish all gone now. "Ooooh, Danny boy, the pipeshs, the pipeshs are …"

Jush one widdle more sip of thish stuff to finishshsh the buttle, jush to make it sthay away, yunershtand. [size=+2]Urpp![/size]
 
Lint rollers are great or post its what ever is handy. But hey if it's only been an hour and half and your pulling your hair out, thats nothing, patience Grass Hopper. Maybe you could dim the lights in your shop that always works for me;)

Funny story that happened to me last week, I had a rush order it was late and I was hungry and ready to go home, my work table was a wreck too after a long day. I grab my micro fiber cloth to clean some plexi glass, I start wiping and then I feel it, see it, tiny scratches everywhere, turns out I had a small piece of sand paper stuck to the micro fiber cloth and I was cleaning the plexi with it. Boy was I upset, a week later I can laugh about it.
 
Walk away... take a break... put it aside until tomorrow and make sure to charge an added labor charge on black suede mats.

Lint rolls work, so does cotton white gloves.
 
I gave up on Tuesday, I was off today, I will go in tomorrow, and get it done. I use a lint roller on everything and white cotton gloves. I think it was just the end of the night, and I worked myself into obsession hours before actually fitting the piece. I had to cut down the frame, putty the heck out of it, and I just knew the museum glass black suede mat combination was going to be a pain...... If I would not have thought so much about it, It would have gone together flawlessly.
 
I gave up one day...just walked out and went home, got in my boat and went fishing...the next day everything that was wrong went together just fine....oh, and I didn't catch any fish that day also
 
UPDATE!

Came in this morning, took it apart, started over. Done in 10 minutes. Amazing how something so frustrating the other day was a breeze today.
 
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