Fillets and linen mats

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Emibub

Emibub

PFG, Picture Framing God
Joined
Nov 2, 2001
Posts
9,246
Location
Centennial, CO, USA
This one is a bit tricky and I have a very very particular customer. As we all know the fabric on these mats is not necessarily running parallel with the edge so when you cut there tends to be little fibres. I've got a fillet that is very plain(Studio version of LJxo466). I am using C7540 mat(linen). Plus this is a shadow box with medals and such so the mat with the fillet and opening is raised about an inch with foam core and a strip of matching linen between it and the bottom of the box. So the mat appears to be floating and isn't in direct contact with the substrate.

It is sometimes impossible to get the very edge of the mat to butt up against the edge of the fillet when using linen in particular. You can only get the glue so close to the edge for fear of seepage. I never notice it with ornate fillets but with this simple profile that minute gap is so obvious(to me). Plus, the glass seems to want to push down on the fillet since it is floating. Normally that doesn't matter if the fillet is against the substrate. I have never put glue directly on the reverse bevel to attach to the side of the fillet as I imagine this would cause eventual pulling away. It has always been satisfactory to apply glue/ATG to the flat edge of the fillet and to the back of the matboard. Except with the darned linen and those fuzzy ends that can't be totally smoothed out. In most cases it is negligible but in this case since they are very particular I fear confrontation.

Any thoughts or ideas? I could possibly be having this late night rambling in my head because I know this customer is very very particular. He already had me move a name tag a 64th of an inch because it wasn't straight. They are big spenders, I want to make them happy but since I have this job opened up I thought I would post for possible ideas I have not considered.....or i'll wake up and realize I was having a middle of the night panic attack....
 
As I continue to keep myself awake thinking about this I think I partially answered my own question. If I want to get rid of the little frayed edges I should do a wrapped mat with the fillet. Although I wasn't crazy about the corners on the reverse bevel with the fillet on a previous project.....Plus, as I was examining a couple pictures I have here at home I think the reason the gap is evident on this one is because the fillet is rounded and doesn't have the same lip most fillets would have.

Just looking for possible fixes.....
 
Kathy, maybe I'm just stating th obvious, but did you shim up the back of the mat to accommodate for the depth of the back of the filet? This will prevent cupping and pulling at the opening. Also, I use spacers with most filets to keep the glass from touching the filet. It is imperative to have your shims perfectly flush with the back of the filet when you use spacers or the mat will buckle from the pressure at the edges.
 
If you need to, you can use just a touch of watered down white glue, (elmers type) and try on a scrap, rubbing it just along the edge of the linen to hold it down. I've had it work for me in the days before I used Bainbridge AlphaLinen. I've not had it fray, but I suppose they all can. The chenille certainly does.

It is important that the mat be flat under the fillet using shims as Diane says and the glazing not press on the outside causing the buckling. Diane said it well and it's one of those things that sometiimes we don't think of.

Nona Powers, CPF
www.nonapowers.com
www.artfacts.org
 
Spacers with most fillets are a good idea. They keep the pressure at the outside edge of the mat from forcing the beveled edges up away from the fillet.

Those linen mats can look nasty when they fray. A little smear of Eileen's tacky glue will help hold the fibers where they belong.

For all the reasons you mention, my sample of LJ's 0466 went into the dumpster years ago.

Kit
 
I'm on my way to the airport and am not sure I will get to post or read TG again for awhile and also needed to print out some last minute paper work for the FACTS meeting. I do hope the various storms leave everyone alone. The poor framers in Florida are really up against it. Well everyone is. Best thoughts to all!!!!

Nona Powers, CPF
www.nonapowers.com
www.artfacts.org
 
Kathy,
Back mounting 2-ply rag to the mount should bring the board even with the top of the fillet.

Also you thought of part of the answer, and I'll tell you the reason that you and most don't notice or think about. Real fabric.

Yes wraping your own. (Not rolling. That's someting else.) That puts the fray away from the visable where you can deal with it easily.

BUT there is another part of this equation: Thickness. When you wrap a 4-ply, it adds the right thickness to match most fillet tops so that they don't stand proud above the mat. You can also wrap a standard bevel or even 12-ply for a very dramatic bevel. Also when it has to float like what I'm picturing you're doing, I like to use Kappa block (now unavailable in the USA), or Gater foam,(filmoplast the foam edge for smoothness) which they SWEAR won't bow or warp like regular foam core.

As for the fray, watered down white glue like Nona said, I have found far superior to "Fray Check", but a tiny dab of Frank's Fabric Adhesive applied with a piece of mat board sliced at a sharp diagonal to produce a very sharp point works better, as it doesn't produce quite the gloss.

Good luck
baer
 
Okay, so much for details at 2 in the morning. I do have the foamcore shims flush against the fillet. and I have tucked in some rogue fibres with a dab of glue but there is just something I don't like about the edge of the mat up against the fillet. I do have a thin matboard spacer along the inside of the frame that I thought was keeping the glass off of the fillet. Plus the problem is compoinded by the fact that I have a fillet going around the frame....

I guess my real trepidation here is I don't think it is a good idea to use glue on the bevel in order to further attach it to the fillet since the fillet is rounded I think it would not attach well enough to hide the glue. Am I making any sense? Probably not even in the light of day.

In reality I wish I had steered them towards a more ornate fillet with a lower profile. I don't use the x0466 for obvious reasons since it chips so badly. The studio one doesn't chip but maybe the profile is just a pain to work with. I have to say I rarely use it and I don't think I have ever used it with a linen mat.
 
You can do a faux wrapped mat by cutting not quite all the way through the matboard, cutting the corners loose and then wrapping the fabric. The mere fact of wrapping will give you this little 'cushion' where the fabric wraps around, which will press up against the fillet and hide that tiny little space that you hate. AND there are no frays (except maybe at the corners a little bit)
 
Yeah Ellen, it is that little gap provided by the slant of the bevel that is giving me consternation. I guess if this doesn't fly I will suggest a hand wrapped or possibly a fillet with some sort of ornate nature that would serve to confuse and fool the eye. I will have to practice your theory with the pseudo wrap. I don't seem to have this trouble with regular mats or suedes, just the linens.

Plus, Lordy look at my spelling in my last post. I be glad Captain English didn't grade that one. Whew! That's called replying without your morning caffeine.
 
It went out of here without a hitch, it was never an issue. I guess I as worrying over nothing since he made such an issue of the name tag being 1/32 of an inch off. He was measuring it through glass I'll bet it was more like 1/64th.

But the good news is it gave me something else to worry about in the middle of the night. It was refreshing to divert my attention. I wish all my other problems were as easily solved. Thanks for the tips and for letting me waste everybody's time with an imaginary problem......
 
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