Frame for outdoors

Rbtwo4

True Grumbler
Joined
Mar 17, 2022
Posts
51
Loc
Fort Lauderdale
Business
Father & Son Custom Framing
So someone just called me and asked if I can frame something for them but the only thing is it would be outdoors and in the elements. Now I live in Florida and it’s sunny, hot and rainy lol. Ideas? Or should I tell them it’s impossible? Art work seems to be prints from my understanding. Thanks for the advice.
 
Not going to happen in my experience. Wood will rot pretty quickly and you can't seal aluminum channel well enough to protect the artwork. The only way I can think of that could work is some sort of welded metal with a nearly hermetically sealed inner capsule. All of that would be beyond my skills and, I suspect, yours.
 
Not going to happen in my experience. Wood will rot pretty quickly and you can't seal aluminum channel well enough to protect the artwork. The only way I can think of that could work is some sort of welded metal with a nearly hermetically sealed inner capsule. All of that would be beyond my skills and, I suspect, yours.
What if it’s a polystyrene frame and I use plexi on Plexi’s and seal the opening?
 
Just for perspective- A number of years ago, I had a customer who wanted me to come to their house to look at some artwork that was fading even though we had used UV filtering glazing. They had hung the artwork in a fully enclosed sun room. They were right, the artwork was fading. I had to explain to them that level of light was far in excess of what UV glass could possibly filter out. They decided to leave the artwork where it was and live with the fading.
 
I have framed a few things for myself for outdoors.
I also live in Florida and they have done well for over ten years.
I first pick a hardwood and seal it all around, then I silicone plexi into the Rabbit. I insert the art and silicone another piece of plexi in back to close the package.
That's it.
 
I've used welded steel for several outdoor (sheltered) projects, but they were all multi-tile artworks.
There's no escaping the humidity changes inside a well sealed package.
 
I suppose the big question would be: what is the art media and is it capable of withstanding the rigors of outdoor display?

No matter how it is encapsulated, the intensisty of UV light and the extreme fluctuations of temperature and humidity will harm practically any art media not made from materials specifically designed to counter these environmental conditions.

What is the plan of action if/when the customer comes back in a year or ten years complaining that their watercolour (or whatever art media) is ruined because of how you framed it?

I have had a few requests for this kind of idea and have politely declined saying I have no experience in "outdoor framing", it has many potential risks and I do not want to risk harming their artwork.
 
This is more of a sign maker project.
Even then, I've seen plenty of outdoor signs that leak within a year.
 
Even in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. you can have dramatic changes in temperature over a year. This causes tremendous strain on seals such a double glazed windows that are filled with argon gas. The seals do fail over time. Being in Michigan, I have 2 double-pane windows in my home with failed seals.

I was consulted to design a system for a New York penthouse apartment rooftop outdoor space. My solution was a box within a box enclosure with the outer box having its own HVAC system to control the climate where the art enclosure would be stabilized regarding temperature. This outer box also had a rollup curtain to protect the art from excess light when there was no one around to view the art.

The project never got off the ground due to cost. It can be done; however, if you have to ask how much, you can't afford it.

A sign company banner printer would be the most economical way to go as has already been suggested.
 
You can filter out 100% of the UV spectrum and the art will still fade from the rest of the visible light spectrum.
Read the claims by the UV glass/acrylic manufacturers carefully. I made a sample frame with 2" wide strips of glass, UF3 acrylic, the old frosted non glare glass, and a strip of aluminum, and left a 2" area uncovered. These were all hinged and placed over a C-Print. ( color photographic print) After just a few weeks in the shop window facing South in the SF bay area.... everything faded except the area under the aluminum. I recommend every framer should have a frame sample like this to show customers that want their art fade-proof.
 
Back
Top