How to conserve this???

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Framar

Framar

WOW Framer
Joined
Jul 24, 2001
Posts
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Loc
Buffalo, New York, USA/Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada
I have a most unusual item that I wish to preserve for myself. It is the first present that my late business partner Kim ever gave me and it is an India ink drawing, unfortunately signed in now-fading ballpoint and surrounded by the only mat she ever cut in her life - a double mat in Raven Black and 970 gold - yes paper mats and from 1982.

It is only now after she has been gone a year that I realize how honored I was to be the recipient of this matting effort - you really would laugh if you could know just how much she hated doing any framing. (She made it a standard size so she didn't have to cut the glass and ordered a metal frame for it - LOL!)

Is there anything that I can paint, spray or anyway apply to the bevels of this mat and the back to slow down the acid leaking???

In the past I have gessoed bevels and backings of one-of-a-kind matting (mostly for myself - not customers!) but I don't want to change the appearance in any way.

Matte medium? Shellac? Spray with Make it Acid Free (which smells like Wei whatever?)?

Any suggestions?
 
Acrylic gel. I would think all of the acid has done its damage and it gone by now. Personally, I would think you would want to frame it to the highest standards to preserve the drawing.

You could also use mylar over the drawing with an artcare board behind and then keep the mat as is.
 
Mylar! What a great idea!!! (don't tell Jim Miller that I didn't think of that first...) - and I definately plan to use Artcare in the package and CC glass.

Thanks!!!
 
When I have wanted to preserve the original matting, ( from '40's) I've cut a Mylar underlay for the window mat, extending about 1/8" beyond the window. So far (about 10 yrs) that seems to be working. The matburns I'm familiar with don't extend more than 1/8 in from the bevel cut, so it's not necessary to cover the entire image area with Mylar. Though you certainly could for additional protection.

I think you could also use an Artcare undermat, cut the same way, to similar effect.

Rebecca
 
Thanks for that idea, Rebecca - I can see a similar application of Mylar strips on smaller pieces that have to be secured into matting when a customer objects to the shiny wrinkly appearance of the Mylar over the whole face.

Sure wish someone would make matte finish Mylar......or, failing that, a safe spray one could apply to the front surface!
 
I think that the Mylar is a good idea for the artwork. Golden's GAC 100 would be a good acrylic medium if you want to seal the back of the mat. Gamblin's PVA size would also be helpful in sealing the mat.
 
You could always, wrap it with the vinyl face sheet used on print transfers. Its a satin finish as well as an 80% UV block.
 
Is there anything that I can paint, spray or anyway apply to the bevels of this mat and the back to slow down the acid leaking???

There's no way to prevent further deterioration of the old matboards, and slowing the "acid leaking" would be difficult if not impossible. Trouble is, you have no way to know if your attempted fix is working. The lignin in the old mats will just keep generating acid and the boards will continue getting darker and more brittle. Some of the chemical contaminanats could migrate throughout the frame package.

To preserve the art, first check the mounting materials. Remount it to alphacellulose board if you can. As a barrier for the art, Rebecca's suggestion of a clear film window would help a lot. But you would see the edges of the clear film, and it is not an absolute barrier, anyway. The chemical migration could continue past the clear film, eventually. In any case, I'd be most concerned about the ball-point pen ink.

A better alternative would be to place a sheet of Museum Glass or Optium Museum Acrylic under the mats.

And while you're at it, put optically coated, anti-reflection glazing on top, too. One of those sheets could just as well be the less-costly AR Glass or Optium Acrylic -- which have the optical properties, but not the UV-filtering quality of Museum Glass and Optium Museum Acrylic.
 
That's a very good idea Jim!

You're really into the double glazing these days aren't you? Now if we can only figure out a way to fill them with Argon lol.

Rebecca
 
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