Lining fabric mats and lining wood frames on canvas

[Kirstie]

Two questions:

1. What are most of you using to line the back of fabric hand wrapped mats in order to protect the art in a way that does not show from the front and does not raise the mat up significantly? We do not put fabric on extremely valuable art in the first place, but would like to know how you approach this.

2. What are you using to line all the exposed wood surfaces on moulding going on canvas with no liner? Many come in already stretched directly on wood stretchers.

3. Are you using fillet tape, and if so, what kind, what brand?

At our shop we realize we need a more consistent approach and we need to price accordingly, especially for the DIY customer.

Thank you!

 

[PaulSF]

For fabric-wrapped mats, try pieces of 2-ply matboard. That shouldn't raise the mat too much. Use the fabric glue to attach the 2-ply to the underside of the fabric mat.

For artwork on canvas, I seal the rabbet with Lineco "Frame Sealing Tape" -- this is the metallic barrier tape. If I'm stretching a canvas onto stretcher bars, I may seal the stretcher bars with the Frame Sealing Tape, too.

 

[Matt-cutter]

That's a good point about the stretchers not being sealed on most (all) canvases.
Do you ever offer a customer a "conservation restretching" on sealed stretchers?
That sounds like a good angle to me.

 

[Kirstie]

2 ply--yes, we use that, but to have it be any sort of meaningful barrier, it needs to extend past the edge of the mat, thus it shows.