Help needed for gluing poster with plastic laminated backing

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MacGyver

MacGyver

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
Joined
May 27, 2005
Posts
210
Loc
Whistler, BC
Hey Everyone!
This is actually for you seasoned framers out there..I got this problem of gluing one of those giant posters with what looks like flimsy plastic lamination on either front and backsides..Ive tried white glue once but it just wont hold itself up for a long time and it wrinkles up a lot while the glue is setting. Tried applying a really thin coat of rubber cement on the board and the plastic backside as well but that burned the plastic coat.. I ended up putting the giant poster between two really large sheets of glass which were too heavy I guess the frame( and the walls too!)wont hold it that long... I know a lot of you had done that before..Is there a special glue for those plastic backed posters? How am I gonna glue it without those awful wrinkles showing up front? Please help...Thanks
 
Scallop wiz, just a few questions for you:
Exactly how big is your poster? It's just a little hard to tell what to do with out knowing the actual size. Also are you putting a mat or just a frame around it? If you put a bit more detail on here, some people may be able to help you. Good luck!!!
Angie
 
Sometimes laminates have a slight silicon coating which needs to be wiped off with a soft cloth. If the poster was cold laminated with a roll laminator it probably has this silcon coating on it. The silicon is put on the surface to make the laminate not stick to itself on the roll.

In any case, since the laminate is already "protecting" the poster, I would probably use 3M spray 77 to mount the poster flat on fom-cor or Cor-X board.

By the way, rubber cement should never be used in any part of the framing process I can imagine. It is staining and made as a temporary adhesive. Its primary use was in the commercial art field for doing "paste-ups", but has since been replaced by more modern stainfree repositionable adhesives or wax adhesives.

Dave Makielski
 
The poster is 78 inches tall and 96 inches long. I need to put a 6 inch doublemat around
( including the rebate). The poster is quite flimsy and that makes applying glue to the board extremely difficult specially if you are using a fast drying glue because of the size. Thanks Dave! I think the 3M spray will do the job, since it doesnt dry that fast, I'll have more time to fix any creases and wrinkles that would appear.
 
You will need someone to help you with that size poster. Spray the 77 evenly and line up a side of the poster to the board. Adhere the poster starting at that side. Slowly lower the poster trying to get it straight without wrinkles until the poster is mounted completely to the other side.

The spray adhesives from 3M do need to be worked with rather swiftly as the longer the time period before adhesion the less permanet they are. You don't want to rush mounting this, but don't dally too long either. You are lucky it is laminated when mounting something so large because you can work with it a bit pulling it up quickly if it starts to go off kilter.

I'll deny I told you this, but if you do have a bubble you should be able to make a slight pinprick to the surface and, with release paper, burnish the bubble out.

Good luck! Sounds like a nice job.


Dave Makielski
 
Another way to use a spray adhesive...
Position the poster on the backing. Rolling up one end, spray the adhesive on both the back of the rolled area and the exposed backing, making sure that no over spray gets on the exposed surface (Use some form of mask to protect the face). After the adhesive has set but is still tacky, adhere that end of the poster.
Now go to the opposite end and roll the poster up the other way until you get to the adhered part. Complete by spraying and adhering in segments as the poster unrolls.
You will get a better bond if there is spray applied to both surfaces, and you can wait longer so most of the propellant and the moisture has evaporated so there's less chance of bubbles. If these is any excess humidity left it will be sure to bubble since the laminated surface is non-porous.

What are you using as a substrate for these posters?
 
Wally, I like your method! I did a big job like this once and I, um, didn't, um, did, ummm well after I bought a replacement map... I found your method!

So when scallop wiz posted this thread, I remembered myself standing there with this huge map suspended over my head, pressing down the edge I had nearest me, and looking up at the phone as it started ringing, and seeing a customer walking down the walkway with a 3' X 4' canvas! Then it got interesting!
 
Alternatively just subcontract it out to someone with an oversize press!

A light sanding on the laminate before mounting helps adhesion.
 
I framed a bunch of muscular/skeletal posters for some Pzifer salesmen who wanted to give them to special doctors. They were only 20 x 26 and I used 77 spray and they bubbled! The lamination coating was too slick. I had to use steel wool on the back 1st, then the 77 did its job. Hope this helps!!
faintthud.gif
 
Hey guys!
Those tips are indeed helpful, I used to mount a fairly large poster using Wally's method but using white glue instead, it worked just the same but not without some teeny weeny wrinkles appearing on the parts that got dinky. I must also admit to using a rather unacceptable tool to straighten out some more creases where the glue had came out a little thick..A hot IRON! Anyway, it worked but with so much anxiety as you pull off the job. Im using an acid free grey board about 1/16 inch thick as substrate for this poster. I havent heard anything like sanding a poster thats too thin, but Im gonna try that next time.
 
I’ve had pretty good luck using PMA when mounting previously laminated posters. You may need to wipe the back of the laminate with a solvent (like cigarette lighter fluid) then lightly sand the surface with a fine grit sandpaper to give it tooth.

I would be very careful applying heat to such a laminate, though. It may alter the surface.
 
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