Floating Stretched oil

Phoneguy

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Posts
678
Loc
New Westminster, B.C. Canada
Here is another one...?

I have an order to frame two oils that the customer got on holiday in Cuba (can you say colourful). Previously they were stretched, stapled along the edge and the excess fabric gathered along the back. They are going to float in a Fotiou U4000BL Frame (straight black 1.25" tall). I am going to leave a 3/8" space between the canvas and the frame. To cover the staples on the edge of the frame I plan on wrapping some black fabric.
At a local fabric store I picked up some 1 1/2" black polyester ribbon, and some 7/8" ribbon. My first thought was to use some heat bond Iron on adhesive to iron on the black ribbbon. Then I thought that maybe that is not reversible so...next idea...Liquid Acid free glue...didn't get to far on that one,
Third idea...fold and iron a seam in the larger ribbon, hand stitch on the inside to the edge of the canvas, fold over the bottom edge and then staple the remainder to the back of the stretcher bars....A lot of hand labour but reversible....Any ideas out there?

A local wholesaler (that I don't have an account with yet) has black linen tape...not sure if that would work, or if it would leave a residue...

Hmmm,,,still thinking

Thanks for ideas
James
 
To get a smoother edge on your folded ribbon, steal this technique from upholsterers. Put a thin strip of matboard along the fold line, staple through that into the stretcher bar and then fold over the ribbon. It gives a totally sharp, supported edge. Gosh, I hope this is clear!
 
You might consider brushing artists'gloss acrylic
medium to the inside of the ribbon and allowing
it to dry. The ribbon can then be ironed onto the
edges of the canvas, where it should bond lightly
enough that it can be readily removed, but it
should stay in place.

Hugh
 
Canvas Tape
the tape is easy -fotiou may have it they have most tapes. there is good art coming out of cuba but there is also much tourist trash sold cheap on the street or even under official gov stamp in markets
these canvas' from Cuba we see alot of
be careful of a few things
acrylic on top of oil or other incompatables (almost funny how the paint peals off)
old bed sheets as canvas tear easily
unsquare warped 'cuban' stretchers of green wood that doesnt like climate change
 
Ellen, that is a great idea, although I think I might use something thinner, like card stock from the back of a drawing pad...maybe I will increase my frame size by 1/8" to allow for some extra thickness.

Preservator...if the ribbon is already black would I still need to paint it? The idea is to create a black hole between the canvas edge and the frame. Am I correct in thinking that you have stated an iron on film would not disturb your "preservation" sensablities? The ribbon material is polyester by the way...Should be reasonably stable.

Mike, the canvasses came home in a roll (I was told). They had them stretched here. I might pull the staples on one of them and straighten it out a little. It has some waves in it, more the framers fault than the canvas. The paint could be acrylic, any easy way to eyeball the difference? The canvas looks to be canvas, thin but I can see that it was treated (gesso hopefully) along the edges so I hope the surace won't spall off. The customer had the stretched canvasses hanging in their house for a few years so I think they are stable enough. I did find one crack, which I took a digital photo of and sent it to the owner, so he wouldn't think it happened while in my care.

So far I am leaning to Ellen's idea as it would make for a nice crisp edge. And quick. And would stand up to light abuse.

I really appreciate everyones help on this site. As I have said on other posts, my framing mentor passed away suddenly this past summer. You people help fill the learning void, and reading the posts is pushing me to expand my thinking. And I like the irreverant humor.
Thanks
James
 
James,
Hugh is suggesting artist's acrylic gloss medium as a c/p way to adhere the ribbon to the edge of the canvas. No painting of any fabric is involved. The gloss medium is heat reactivated which makes ironing it a nice way to stick it.

I like Ellen's idea with the mat board also- I'll bet that would look very tailored and tidy.

And James, no raw ribbon edges, please! (the ends, that is) I would fold them under and schtick 'em in place with the medium. Us gals are fussy about details, you know.

Is the Fotiou frame a floater or are you adding one? Just wonderin'...

edie the ilivefordetails goddess
 
Originally posted by Framing Goddess:
James,
Hugh is suggesting artist's acrylic gloss medium as a c/p way to adhere the ribbon to the edge of the canvas. No painting of any fabric is involved. The gloss medium is heat reactivated which makes ironing it a nice way to stick it.

I like Ellen's idea with the mat board also- I'll bet that would look very tailored and tidy.

And James, no raw ribbon edges, please! (the ends, that is) I would fold them under and schtick 'em in place with the medium. Us gals are fussy about details, you know.

Is the Fotiou frame a floater or are you adding one? Just wonderin'...

edie the ilivefordetails goddess
Edie, the frame is about 1 1/4" tall (outside) simple right angle, nicely finished. I have corner samples that all have a primarily black finish.
4000Bl is straight black, simple and effective, 4000Si has a silver (paint) top edge with black primarily and 4000Go has a gold top edge. The thickness of the top edge is about 1/4"....I don't have it in front of me, could be a bit thicker than that...Basically the moulding looks like l_ . Does that make sense?

By the way, I did a quick and dirty estimate for the customer at $120 Can each. I guess that is about $100US nowadays. I order my frames chopped and joined (economy of scale at this point) and they work out to 39 - 40 United inches. How does that compare to what other people charge?
Thanks Again
 
Edie made thing clearer, and thanks is due her.
Heat is not used in preservation, and would be
avoided, here, but the alternatives are more staples or pressure-sensitive adhesives, which
might cause chemical change and which may, eventually loose their hold. Ellen's idea should work, well, too.

Hugh
 
I restretched one of the canvasses tonight (decided to take the waves out of it) and then used Ellen's technique to wrap the edges. It worked out really well. I used an old black slip sheet mat and cut it down into strips 1/8" less than the thickness of the stretcher bar. My air powered upholstery stapler (that I also use for fitting prints) was very convenient and fast. The 1 1/2" ribbon was perfect. Lots of material to catch under the matte strips, wrap over top and staple to the back. Now no staples show from the fronts or sides. Only problem is I don't think I estimated enough for my labour...Oh well, hopefully I padded the frame price enough.

Only knock...I am about 6" short on the remainder of the ribbon, so I have to buy another roll for the remaining frame.

Thanks everyone for their help!
James
 
Phoneguy, your tag line brings to mind one of my grandmother's sayings (and she had a bunch of 'em!) "Count the day lost that you don't learn something."
 
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