Glazing hazing on framed batik

Create a Post
L

LurayFrameSmith

Grumbler
Joined
Nov 14, 2007
Posts
24
Loc
Shenandoah Valley of VA
A customer brought in a triple matted (but not stretched) batik today that is dated 1978. It is obviously not framed with any type of conservation techniques, and there is a hazy fogging on the glass above the areas where the wax would have been used on the batik. She would like the glass replaced, acid free foam core, the same mats ( #$@#$% !!) because they match the room so well so why spend $$ on new acid free ones?? :bdh: Anyway, does anyone know the cause of the glass fogging and if it will just happen again and/or what I can do to prevent that??
Thanks much ~ Laurie
 
Looks like the batik artist didn`t remove all the wax from the fabric.Sounds like a wax "bloom".Wax based Colored pencils(Prismacolor is the worst) will haze over like that on the paper.I quit using them for originals because of this,even with a clearcoat they sometimes haze over.Fixing this on glass, unfortunately isn`t my area.I would like to know that one as well. L.R.
 
Yep, the hazing is a break down of materials inside the package, outgassing.

I have made up dozens of split UV / plain glass samples for my framing clients, and noticed that before the fading finished, the plain glass side would be hazy.

On many samples, I cleaned the plain glass up to 3 times during 3 - 4 weeks of UV exposure to keep it relatively clear inside, and another final clean before final assembly and hand over.

It's like the inside of your car windscreen hazing up, generally from the plastic dash (very slowly) breaking down, even more so if you have a dash mat protector, these really break down / outgas a lot.

The UV glass sides of the samples never hazed over.

It has probably outgassed all it will by now, but why not use UV glass on it if they will upgrade, this will give the best protection from that point on.
 
Is it a problem to have a haze on the glass after 30 years?

Nope. Advise the customer that it's a good idea to have framed artworks professionally inspected every five years or so, and opened for cleaning and repairs if necessary. In this case, I suggest replacing "acid free" mats with alphacellulose, because the old mats could contribute to the hazing. Matching color should be easy enough.

Yes, by 2038, the haze will probably reappear on the glass if the frame remains intact for the next 3 decades, no matter what you do to the artwork. Invite her to come back in 2012 for cleaning & refitting.
 
Batik fogging update

Today I took the batik apart and just for kicks cleaned the glass before I threw it out and the fogging cleaned right off. I just wanted to see if it would even though I had talked her into UV glass - alas - the batik has already faded many shades from the original which is unfortunate because it is beautiful. I did my best to insulate the newly stretched fabric - which had heretofore been taped in with masking tape - from the the :vomit: lovely, faded, 30 year old acid saturated, badly overcut mats by adding one more unseen mat underneath from the waste mat bin and used new acid free foamcore. It was the best I could do for what she was willing to spend. Ah well, she was happy, I was able to live with it and learned about batik hazing so all is well in frameland tonight in the Shenandoah Valley.
Laurie
PS. OOPS! I forgot to put my sticker on the back!:thumbsup:
 
Create a Post
Back
Top