Question How to fix a large indentation in center of a large giclee on canvas

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cjmst3k

cjmst3k

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
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Yesterday I had a customer try out two framed pieces from our gallery. Once was a 24x30 framed gicleed on canvas which is embellished and a sold-out edition, framed with an open-back. The second was a large 30x36 framed print with matting/glass, etc.

When she brought the piece back just now, she leaned the back of the canvas against a babyseat, and then leaned the other heavier piece against that piece, so it had some weight pushing the canvas against the babyseat as she drove here.

By the time she got to my store, the canvas in the middle is stretched out-of-whack in a 10" circle in the center, but is otherwise fairly tight. So, this canvas now essentially has a pregnant belly, so to speak. Its a $1900 piece, so I'm trying to avoid the customer paying for it unless its irreparable.

How can I correct this and get the center to tighten up? I'm concerned about using water on a consigned giclee, as it may make things much worse.
 
Chris... I'd call the publisher and see if they can replace the giclee before trying a rescue effort. Since it is a digital print, often the publisher can print another one to replace that piece with proof of the destruction of the one you have on hand.

If it is replaceable, you can relax a bit with the rescue effort. I just repaired one that had a similar, but not as extensive, dent by lightly misting the back with distilled water and then laying it flat face down with blotter paper on each side and putting a mild weight, like a telephone book on it. I had to repeat the process twice... with your dent it may take ten times or so. If the surface isn't cracked and you don't wet the surface too much, you should be fine.
 
Never tried it on a digi print, but fixed some horrendous dents in oils by lightly damping. An airbrush is the best thing as you can control the spray to a very fine degree and also feather out the damping outward from the dent. Ideally you should apply a little extra tension if possible. The trick is to do a little at a time and let it relax for a while. If the dent is diminishing, then do a bit more. Sometimes they disappear like magic. The worse one was a canvas that someone left on top of the spare wheel in their car for a few days. That had a giant donut-shaped dent in it.

I should stress that this is strictly a last-gasp method when all else has failed. Damping the back of a canvas is generally not a good idea.
 
Misting the back of a "real" canvas is OK but I would use caution on wetting a giclee.
Even if you just mist the back it can leave a mark on the front in the image.
 
Dave, agreed, the first thing I did was email the artist's sales manager and he said the following:

"There use to be a product called Tight’nÚp by Masterpiece Artist Canvases of San Francisco. It was a 4 oz pump bottle. I have routinely used room temperature water in a spray bottle and sprayed the back of the canvas. Let it dry or use a hair dryer to dry and that will tighten the canvas without harming any inks. "

...given his permission, I think I will give this technique a try.
 
Sorry I don't have any suggestions for fixing the dent, Chris. However, I think you have the perfect example of why it is a good idea to put a solid backing on canvas paintings. I would think that having a solid backing should have protected the back of the canvas from being dented by the babyseat.
 
Here we'd probably mist out blotting paper, not the back of the canvas. The water moves through the blotting paper very speedily, and gives a better distribution of moisture.
 
Twin2 said:
Sorry I don't have any suggestions for fixing the dent, Chris. However, I think you have the perfect example of why it is a good idea to put a solid backing on canvas paintings. I would think that having a solid backing should have protected the back of the canvas from being dented by the babyseat.
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Agreed, which is mostly what we do, except with consignment art that we frame. I'll be reviewing whether consignment art that we frame at our expense is better to leave easy-to-remove, or sealed in.


05 said:
Here we'd probably mist out blotting paper, not the back of the canvas. The water moves through the blotting paper very speedily, and gives a better distribution of moisture.
Click to expand...

Excellent suggestion, 05. I had not thought of that option. I have limited experience with it, and don't have any on hand. Is blotting paper fairly thin, where it would conform to a subtle concave shape? Does slight heat from a hairdryer from the drying process help things at all?
 
Blotting paper comes in a few weights. I cannot suggest one over the other without seeing the actual thing (photos only help). The painting conservators here generally use our heavier (100 pt, 1/10th inch)
weight, put something flat on top (like a piece of acrylic) then a board and then maybe weights, depending on what the specific problem is. Often they do it several times.

Gaylord, University Products, Archivart, Talas all have blotter. Take your pick. (Being conservatorts, we use rag, but alpha cellulose is available).
 
Don't use the hair dryer.

Humidify in the morning, check it before you go home, & do it again then if need be. When it looks OK, it should be left to dry with a for a *minimum* of 24 hours.
 
Terry Hart cpf said:
Could be your answer. I've had some luck with it. http://www.masterpiecearts.com/products/tight.php
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Hi everyone,

I've be reading posts for some time now but never posted..I'm a professional artist, framer , and print giclee (wideformat injet) on canvas and paper. I have had success gently misting the back of a canvas with pure water to tighten it up but would be very cautious as there are a wide range of canvas qualities out there. The higher end products, (I use Breathing Colour), seem to take the misting fine but the lower quality media will cause more damage than not. Also, the "Tghten Up" product line is not recommended for aqueous inkjet giclees. (They have a disclaimer on their website.)Be very wary of "universal" canvases for inkjet as well...

It might be a good idea to check with the publisher/printer to see waht type of cavas was used and whether the print was from a waterbased ink set or solvent. I only have experience with my Epson 9880 and media mentioned above..so I cannot comment on solvent printers.

Thanks for all the info..this site is an excellant resourse for any framer or artist.
 
I like Dave's suggestion about asking if the publisher will replace it with proof of destruction of the original giclee. Have you asked about that?
Also, I know it's after the fact now, but even if only securing a 1/8" foamboard panel with offsets, I wouldn't let a canvas out without a solid backing. I would ASSUME it would be damaged, because no one ever handles things as carefully as we do.
:kaffeetrinker_2: Rick
 
I've never tried it on a giclee and only with great trepidation on real canvas, but a somewhat dilute solution of rabbit skin glue sprayed on the back of the canvas will likely size it up tight. The boss is a painter and swears by this method for loose or dented canvas. It could be a fix if you don't want to spring for the Tighten Up.

James
 
Tight'n'Up was basically water with sizing in it. I still have a few bottles of it and didn't realize it was discontinued. It makes sense that a bit of hide glue in water would work similarly.
 
Lots of good advice. Thank you everyone! Will be trying one or some of these methods today or Tuesday.

The canvas is embellished by the artist, in an unusual way with very tiny peaks, similar to hundreds of hershey kisses dotted on here that are 1/16" tall, so I can't put consistent pressure from the other side. Also, a reprint would result in a multilayer re-embellishing, which I think the publisher would be unlikely to do for free.

I'll be re-reviewing the options soon, and as 05 said I'll stay away from the hairdryer too.
 
Good luck, Chris. Just remember, little mositure and repetitive steps. You can probably use light weights without any damage... something like the LJ weights or a sheet of plexi.

Report back what kind of results you got.
 
If you have a thin piece of foam, like the kind used for laminating, it should prevent flattening if you use it to cushion the peaks during the leaving-it-under-weight phase.
 
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