I took in a 23" x 31", 1/4" thick wood puzzle which is put together but not glued, and it has incriptions all over the back side. The customer wants a single mat and plexi on both sides, and wants it to hang with screweyes on the top of the frame. Is there a clear spray varnish or something similar that is strong enough to bond the pieces of the puzzle together so it won't fall apart when it is framed? Or is there another idea besides using sheets of glass up against the pieces (too heavy!)?
Help How do you hold a 2-sided puzzle together?
- Thread starter Steve B
- Start date
It would be risky to rely on any sort of adhesive or coating on the puzzle, because it probably could not resist deflection or disintegration in the event of impact or pressure on the front or back. The surfaces would be vulnerable to damage from light, soiling, abrasions & scratches, too.
The glass sandwich is nearly always a bad idea, because glass is a poor thermal insulator and condenses moisture readily. Google "Dew Point" or search the archives here, and study. When you understand how the natural phenomenon of dew point works, you will understand why a glass sandwich mount can cause mildew, mold, and stuck surfaces. You will also understand why it doesn't always happen.
Sandwich the puzzle between two sheets of acrylic instead of glass. Acrylic has half the weight and twenty times the shatter-resistance of glass, and it is a much better thermal insulator - less prone to condensing moisture, so the dew point condition is much less likely to occur with acrylic.
One drawback of acrylic in a Direct Contact Overlay (DCO) mount is that the item in direct contact might eventually abrade the inside surface of the acrylic. The answer to that is to use abrasion-resistant, type AR acrylic. UV filtering is always recommended, as well. Specify Acrylite OP-3-AR. Or, if the budget allows, use Optium Museum Acrylic, which has the additional benefit of optical coatings for higher clarity and anti-reflection.
I am a satisfied Tru Vue user and occasional consultant.
The glass sandwich is nearly always a bad idea, because glass is a poor thermal insulator and condenses moisture readily. Google "Dew Point" or search the archives here, and study. When you understand how the natural phenomenon of dew point works, you will understand why a glass sandwich mount can cause mildew, mold, and stuck surfaces. You will also understand why it doesn't always happen.
Sandwich the puzzle between two sheets of acrylic instead of glass. Acrylic has half the weight and twenty times the shatter-resistance of glass, and it is a much better thermal insulator - less prone to condensing moisture, so the dew point condition is much less likely to occur with acrylic.
One drawback of acrylic in a Direct Contact Overlay (DCO) mount is that the item in direct contact might eventually abrade the inside surface of the acrylic. The answer to that is to use abrasion-resistant, type AR acrylic. UV filtering is always recommended, as well. Specify Acrylite OP-3-AR. Or, if the budget allows, use Optium Museum Acrylic, which has the additional benefit of optical coatings for higher clarity and anti-reflection.
I am a satisfied Tru Vue user and occasional consultant.
JWB9999999
SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Isn't there going to be a high risk of noticeable scratching with the Optium Museum Acrylic? I do not use that myself, but I use lots of museum glass and it is far more sensative to damage from things rubbing on the surface than regular glasses are. Or is the Optium Museum Acrylic really that resistant to abrasion (unlike museum glass)?
janetj1968
PFG, Picture Framing God
Why not start with laminating the puzzle...first on the front..and then on the back.
Would that do it?
Would that do it?
Dave
SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
I would think a couple coats of Liquitex Acylic Gloss Medium and Varnish would hold it together. It's what they use for decoupage. Of course the glossyness might be undesirable. Call Binney & Smith tech dept and ask if the Matte Medium would have the same adhesive properties.
Not an archival reversible process though.
Not an archival reversible process though.
In this application, it would be reasonable to compare AR (Abrasion Resistant) acrylic to ordinary acrylic, but not to any kind of glass, since glass is not recommended for "sandwich" mounting.
"...things rubbing on the surface" usually do not damage optically coated glass or acrylic, but the optical coatings show all sorts of marks more obviously than they would show up on ordinary glass. Often, a hard rub with a moist microfiber cloth will remove from the optical coating what looks like a scuff or a scratch. In fact, a soiled cloth can make those marks.
Of course acrylic scratches more easily than glass, but Museum Optium Acrylic and Optium Acrylic have exactly the same optical coatings as Museum Glass and AR Glass. So, if you think Museum Glass scratches easily (I don't have that problem), then your experience with optically coated acrylic would be similar.
But decoupage is done on rigid surfaces. The puzzle would not be a rigid surface.
Dave
SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Acrylic medium has adhesive properties and is somewhat flexible... just could work. I'd experiment a bit.
I use to sell cardboard jigsaw puzzles and also a varnish that was made to bond the puzzle together. I believe it was most likely a standard acrylic heavy varnish.
Coating both sides would provide extra adhesion and reduce the flexing.
I use to sell cardboard jigsaw puzzles and also a varnish that was made to bond the puzzle together. I believe it was most likely a standard acrylic heavy varnish.
Coating both sides would provide extra adhesion and reduce the flexing.
I'm just guessing here, but how about just covering one side with clear, mat finish contact paper, or perhaps clear, mat finish, sign vinyl.
John
John