And a good morning to you,too Jim! That was certainly an honest post.
You'll probably find that people direct you to the search options on here. If you haven't already been doing that, it's a great resource. You will most likely come away with some of these questions remaining, though. There are some materials on which there's a general consensus about quality, and others that people all have their own favorite kinds and methods with.
Have you checked out the frametek website yet? He really does give good hinging advice. Even if you're somebody who doesn't use wheat or rice starch to hinge, using the same structural methods when hinging will be better than any other way. I used to use a pendant hinge until reading there that it's the weakest kind. Now my hinges are working out much better.
There's something called Filmoplast paper tape that a lot of framers use. Real conservators wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, but so much of it sells that it's obvious picture framers are using in a lot of places. I'm at the point where I use it sometimes and use more conservation methods sometimes. It has a kind called Filmplast P, which is translucent and only for repairing delicate tears in paper. Then theres Filmoplast P90, which is solid white and sturdier. Now they've come out with P90 Plus, which is even stronger.
If you ever do start using more conservation hinging and mounting methods, their are archival materials for doing so that will help to protect it for much longer.
Sometimes people use plastic corners or pre-folded paper edge strips to hold the art to the backing without having anything stuck to it at all. What's important is that, if you do hinge it, not be stuck down on all sides, and that it be to the backing, not the mat.
The frame liner Baer was talking about also comes in different kinds. The one I'm most familiar with is made by Lineco, and I think it's called I-Film. Am writing this from home so going by memory. There are different versions of these kinds of liner films, and he's right that with your
frame it's an important consideration.
I smiled at your ATG question. To tell you the truth, I don't even know what the letters mean. It's a double sided sticky tape that is put out by 3M Products. There's regular, which is number 924, and super sticky which is number 969. You would never want to use it to attach the art, but lots of framers place it on the foam core backing around the outside of the art and then stick the mat down to it.
Something else to know is that you should never use just a single matboard to back something. It's too thin and will warp over time. Not cardboard, either, as it's acidic. You need to use foam core board. It comes in regular, acid-free and archival. Your local frame shop should be willing to sell you pieces and parts of things like foam core.
This is already a long post, so I'll stop writing. Maybe other people will give you good ideas for reference materials. Maybe some bit of this will be useful to you, though, and that will make it worth the typing.
(I do have some knowledge on hinging, just no insight on when to use which technque or material)
What is the date and other specifics?
