Float Mounting Cork Place Mats

[Stray Feathers]

The title says it - a customer wants a set of four circular place mats, made of cork with a durable surface (like the Pimpernel brand), float mounted on smaller circles of foam board over a Moorman suede mat. I would appreciate suggestions as to how to stick the cork-backed place mats to the foam board. I think I can figure some sort of mechanical way to attach the foam board circles to the suede mat, like Attach-ez or perhaps just stitching it, but want it flat enough for a good adhesive bond to the cork. Would silicon work here? I like the idea of having a little body in the adhesive. I think being reversable is not an option.

 

[wpfay]

Why stitch the foam board to the suede mat, why not just glue it all down? Fabric glue (PVA) would work.

 

[j Paul]

The title says it - a customer wants a set of four circular place mats, made of cork with a durable surface (like the Pimpernel brand), float mounted on smaller circles of foam board over a Moorman suede mat. I would appreciate suggestions as to how to stick the cork-backed place mats to the foam board. I think I can figure some sort of mechanical way to attach the foam board circles to the suede mat, like Attach-ez or perhaps just stitching it, but want it flat enough for a good adhesive bond to the cork. Would silicon work here? I like the idea of having a little body in the adhesive. I think being reversable is not an option.

Well if that is the case they make adhesive for cork, check at a home center. Good old liquid nails would work also. As far as sticking the foam core circles to the suede mat, just make a slight score on the suede mat, smaller than the circles and peel away the suede. And then just glue the circles with PVA and weight.

 

[imaluma]

I too vote for PVA! But my $.02, reversible v. not reversible is a conversation to have with your customer, not behind the scenes. If they want it reversible, then you might have to tell them you need time to think of a solution, and appropriate charges. Or just tell them you're going to glue that puppy down. Either way, get that basic communication across, then work out the little how-to details.

 

[Jim Miller]

Would silicon work here?

Yes, if preservation is not involved. So would PVA and most contact cements.

I think being reversable is not an option.

Yes, it is.

... reversible v. not reversible is a conversation to have with your customer, not behind the scenes.

Absolutely. In most retail shops, the matter of non-preservation framing vs. preservation framing is for the customer to decide, not the framer. What does your customer want?

If the customer has no concern about future value and deterioration, then use whatever glue you like. Or, if the customer wants to preserve the items' condition and value, then it is your job to recommend framing that is not only reversible, but protective against the anticipated hazards of display.

 

[Stray Feathers]

Thanks to all for your suggestions. I was not very clear about why it was not likely to be reversible. We had the conversation with the customer, albeit in a somewhat piecemeal way. She was not concerned about the "art" value of the placemats - they are souvenirs. She also hit the wall price-wise when we suggested more complex (and more easily reversible) options. I would still prefer to do it that way but can't think how to secure the placemats in this instance except under a circular mat opening, which she did not want. I wondered about silicon as it is widely recommended as removable (but from cork?) Otherwise you have given me some alternative glue suggestions that will work. The deadline is near and so back to work . . .

 

[Jim Miller]

I wondered about silicon as it is widely recommended as removable (but from cork?)

Silicone is not removable from many surfaces, and it may least removable from porous, textured surfaces such as cork.

For the surfaces from which it can be removed, its bond has been known to fail on its own, over time. Considering the invasive chemistry of silicone, as well as its permanence on some surfaces and its unreliability in bonding others, it is among the least-often recommended mounting adhesives in framing. For nearly any framing application, some other adhesive would be better.

That said, silicone may be a suitable for bonding worthless cork placemants to a matboard background, but don't expect it to ever be removable from the cork.

 

[Rick Granick]

If you've decided that silicone would be an appropriate option, why not just use hot glue instead? It fills gaps as well as silicone, will not fail as silicone might, and you won't have to wait 24 hrs. for drying silicone to offgass before closing the frame package.
:kaffeetrinker_2: Rick

 

[Susan May]

While I wouldn't suggest silicone glue, I will pleade with you all to not use HOT GLUE in any framing package. All it needs is to be hung in a hot area, for the glue to let go. That can be as simple as near a front door, in a store window, or sadly even being stored in an attic. At least the silicone glue won't let go just because it gets hot.

Hot glue guns should all be thrown away. Their time has come, and gone.

 

[Rick Granick]

Would those areas actually get hot enough to melt hot glue?

What about formed rod mounts encapsulated in Coroplast using hot glue?

Rick

 

[Jim Miller]

What about formed rod mounts encapsulated in Coroplast using hot glue?

Like Sue, some framers from warm climates, such as the American desert southwest and Florida, have said they prefer not to use hotmelt glue. No problem, use epoxy instead.

I have seen hotmelt glue fail once or twice in direct-bonding applications, where the adhesive was required to provide support for a fairly heavy item. I always recommend using mechanical mounts to support objects, and recommend against relying on any adhesive under stress. Over time, the adhesive, the substrate surface, or the object's surface may disintegrate and cause the mount to fail.

That said, the hotmelt glue used to hold formed rod mounts in Coroplast is under relatively little stress. I have never heard of hotmelt glue softening enough to fail to hold formed rod mounts securely between the flutes of Coroplast mounting board, which generally is placed behind at least one 4-ply board layer within the frame. I do not know what temperature would be required to cause that, but my guess is that it would have to be over 150 degrees F. As Sue May suggests, that could happen in an attic.

If the frame were exposed to temperatures high enough and for long enough to heat entire interior of the frame to such a temperature, there probably would be other problems, perhaps more serious than the possibility of a failed rod mount.

 

[Rick Granick]

That's pretty much what I figured, Jim. Thanks for clearing that up.
Rick

P.S. One other scenario I can think of that could cause the frame to be heated to that degree: Bedbugs have become a scourge of many urban areas nowadays. One relatively new method of eradicating them without pesticides is to hire a company to come in with special equipment that heats up the affected room(s) to about 120˚.