Question Float Mounting Rice Paper in a removable way?

[FramerCraig]

We have a customer who wants some rice paper pieces float mounted with spacers, but also wants them to be mounted in a removable way so she can take them out of the frames when the installation is over. The rice paper is too flimsy for photo corners, so we are stumped.

 

[Hatter]

Is the customer wanting the ability to remove just the sheet of rice paper, unto itself, or would it be acceptable for you to do a conservation float hinged to rag where she could remove the art/mount/backing as a whole unit? If so you could build shallow shadowbox sides to hold the glass in, then use turnstyle offsets so she could remove the package as a whole.

 

[05]

Two-ply board over a piece of galvanized steel (or strips of steel, or strips of magnet for more grip) on the back, then tiny earth magnets on the front? There will be a bit of shine from the magnet, sure, but better than trying to remove hinges, even ones put on with wheat starch paste.

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/products.asp?cat=10

 

[FramerCraig]

the problem with hinges is that the paper is so thin they will show through

 

[Dave]

Wow, 05, great suggestion! Those magnets are tiny.

I bookmarked the source for future use.

 

[FramerCraig]

very cool suggestion for the magnets! - I like it although my boss won't go for it haha - I guess we are going to settle on photo corners

 

[CAframer]

...wants some rice paper pieces float mounted with spacers, but also wants them to be mounted in a removable way so she can take them out of the frames when the installation is over...

OK so does this mean top mounted on a mountboard and then spacers to elevate the glass, or does it mean the rice paper pieces themselves are to be elevated with spacers above the surface of the mountboard?

Assuming the former, pick a mountboard that has a little 'tooth' to it. Use an acrylic overlay. The combination of the texture of the mountboard and the static of the acrylic should hold it in place.

Assuming the latter, sandwich the art between anti-reflective glazing (e.g. optium, AR, ArtGlass). Use spacers to elevate the sandwich above the backing.

In either case if the art refuses to stay in its designated spot you could apply just the merest hint of wheat paste applied on the tip of a small needle to hold it in place. But be advised to use such a tiny minuscule whiff of paste that you can barely see it or sense it. It will then detach later without ado.

 

[Susan May]

There are many times when a customer will actually ask you to do something that is physically impossible. For those times you need to remember just one thing. "I am a picture framer, not a magician."

Good luck.

(I love the idea of the magnets. You could even glue a little piece of paper on the front edge of the magnet so it wouldn't be seen as easily.)

 

[RoboFramer]

Depending on size Mylar L-velopes or U-velopes might be good.

 

[Framar]

This sounds like a great candidate for the "have the arteest mount the rice paper first" school of thought. If the arteest wanted the raggedy decorative edges of the rice paper to show (why almost everyone wants to "float" anything) - a slightly undersize piece of ragboard could be mounted to the rice paper, the arteest could create the masterpiece - and the ragboard could be easily hinged with no cockling or show-through.

 

[j Paul]

We have a customer who wants some rice paper pieces float mounted with spacers, but also wants them to be mounted in a removable way so she can take them out of the frames when the installation is over. The rice paper is too flimsy for photo corners, so we are stumped.

very cool suggestion for the magnets! - I like it although my boss won't go for it haha - I guess we are going to settle on photo corners

 

[Jim Miller]

Why not an acrylic DCO?



We used Museum Optium Acrylic and aluminum sectional frames for this set of 12 small paper cutouts, but wood frames work just as well. You could use ordinary acrylic instead, but the superior clarity, 99% UV filtering, and abrasion resistance are advantages.

There is no adhesive in direct contact with the art, so this is a fast, easy, low-risk technique that is completely reversible.

 

[exebache]

Rather than start a new post I'll just tack on to this one. I really like the idea of using magnets to mount especially for see through jobs. I currently have two orders where I intend to do just this, one is an old vellum bible page between 2 pieces of uv acrylite the other is a piece of rice paper also between acrylite. So now my questions is this, what size magnets would be needed to create enough force to hold the items in place. I ordered the smallest ones from K&J's website thinking in terms of minimum visibility but they don't have enough force to hold anything between them once gravity is exerted. So rather than just ordering a whole arsenal of magnets I'm wondering what type of information any one out there may have. Another idea I had was to get much larger ones to use on the back with the smaller on the face and see if that created enough force to hold things in place.

 

[framah]

Rare earth magnets like Cobalt magnets are especially strong at a very small size. Check out Edmund Scientific.

 

[05]

Call up K&J & ask. They're very helpful people, & have lots of info about their products..

 

[Jim Miller]

...So now my questions is this, what size magnets would be needed to create enough force to hold the items in place...

You did not mention size, but most typical documents would be securely held by these 1/8" square rare-earth magnet cubes. They are strong enough to hold a heavy sheepskin about 11"x14", which I recently framed.

Here are a couple of photos from the May, 2012 PFM article, Mounting Options for Documents, showing how the cube-magnets look when used to hold a paper document with Museum Glass. Four magnets are glued to the inside of the back glazing by cyanoacrylate. The magnets on the front of the document are held only by their attraction to the back magnets. The document floats in the 1/4" space between the glazing sheets. You can use small patches of fine tissue or Mylar to pad the magnets' contact points on the document, if appropriate.

 

[Greg Fremstad]

Home Depot has those teeeny very strong magnets. Put the magnets on the back side of your backing and one or 2 pieces of steel sewing pins or thin steel wire on the front of the art. (Cut the heads and points off if using the pins). Spray them with matte acrylic to dull the shine own a bit. Put 2 pins one third from each side of the art.

 

[kuluchicken]

Could one not paint the magnets so that they would tone in with the artwork?

 

[exebache]

I didn't even think about gluing them on the inside of the acrylic. I had them positioned with both glazing and artwork between, they would hold to the glass but the test sheets would slip out form under them. Time for another test without the extra space between for science.