marvelseal

[framanista]

How many people are using Marvelseal? Are there other uses for it besides sealing the frame package?
How often do you seal a frame?
If I decide to seal a frame, how do I make sure the relative humidity is just right?

 

[Ron Eggers]

There is a huge difference between sealing a frame against dust and insects and making it airtight.

There is a general description somewhere on The Grumble for doing the latter, but it's not something that most of us will ever have any reason to do.

(I could be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.)

 

[preservator]

It can also be ironed into rabbets to seal them
and it can be used in place of the dust cover,
where the frame may be hung on a wall that is
suspected of being damp. This latter technique
will keep the frame from trapping moisture from
the wall, without a complete seal. Completely sealed packages are needed for environments that
are continually wet or dry and for settings in
which the art may be exposed to wet pipe sprinklers, which have a tendancy to leak.

Hugh

 

[clifpa]

I did 4 pieces last month where the customer wanted to hang them in two bathrooms, two smallar ones right next to the shower...

I encapcilated the glass, art and backing. I used polyfult (sp) as the backing because it's water proof. (this was suggested by a Grumbler) So far so good.

best

 

[preservator]

Given the probability that the bathroom will have
wet and dry phases, your packaging should work.
It is worth remembering that polypropylene is
resistant to liquid water, but does not resist
water vapor, over time. Only metals, glass, and
certain modified plastics can perform that role.

Hugh

 

[Rebecca]

Hi Hugh,

Do you think taping the Marvelseal to the front edges of the glass with Linco frame sealing tape (I think it's aluminium) would give a reliably sealed package?

I'm thinking of textile press mounts, and your plexi/spacer/glass system. As far as I know, completely sealed framing hasn't made it to the pressmount world yet.

Rebecca

 

[framanista]

I’ve read everything I can find on the Grumble about Marvelseal and sealing a frame. I’m still a little sketchy on how you control the humidity inside the frame. Originally posted by Jim Miller:
“First, dry all hygroscopic parts of the frame package by placing them in a low-temperature oven or drymount press. It is important to get the humidity level as low as possible before sealing the frame -- 40% relative humidity or less -- otherwise the frame would become a mold farm.”

Once I’ve put the mats and backing in the warm press for a few minutes, should I just assume the RH is 20 –40 %, or is there a way to measure?

If the artwork were not something that’s highly sensitive to heat, would you put that in the press too?

 

[Rebecca]

You can buy humidity indicator cards from various archival suppliers - (University Products, Talas,Light Impressions, Carr-McLean...they all have free catalogues)

e.g. http://www.archivalsuppliers.com/user-cgi/display.cgi?id=947

This card gives you the temperature too, but there are others that only give humidity levels. Put the cooked matboard into a double plastic bag with the indicator card, and let sit for a few hours.

A little experimentation with the press and cards will give you a pretty good ballpark as to how long/what T you need to "cook" your matboard.

You can store the cooked matboard in double plastic bags for awhile, before they drift to ambient condition - leave an indicator card in there for reference.

The other alternative is to figure out what relative humidity your work/storage space is (with a hygrometer, about $100)available from the same suppliers, and strive to get at least one area to the proper RH. Then your matboard will be fine too.

Don't try to condition (cook!) your art.

Rebecca

[ 01-15-2004, 10:45 PM: Message edited by: Rebecca ]

 

[Ron Eggers]

I'm still curious about why framanista wants to hermetically seal this frame in the first place.

 

[preservator]

One could make a pressure mount with Marvelseal
surrounding the back and sides of the package.
This would work best it the Marvelseal were taped
to the front of the acrylic sheet, especially if
paper/aluminum tape were used, since this tape
can be easily punctured if it does not have something strong underneath.

Sealed packages made with barrier films like Marvelseal 360, keep out pests, pollution, and
extremes of wet and dry. Packages made with
acrylic sheet will allow moisture to enter or exit
very slowly (through the acrylic), which means that they can be safely used were the conditions are as wet as they are dry. The package will slowly dry in the winter and wet up in the summer, but it will be kept safe from sharp extremes of change.

If a package is going to be in a climate that is
constantly wet or dry, it must be highly sealed.
This means that its glazing must be glass, since
that material functions as a vapor barrier and it
will allow the contents of the package to keep
their original conditioning. Such packages have
demonstrated an ability to resist extremes of
climate, keeping their contents safe from potential desiccation, foxing, tidelines, or mold
growth.

Hugh

 

[framanista]

Originally posted by Ron Eggers:
I'm still curious about why framanista wants to hermetically seal this frame in the first place.

Actually I don’t have a frame that I want to hermetically seal right now. But my boss just ordered some Marvelseal, and as long as it’s around, I may as well know what it’s useful for. Plus we don’t have a lot of orders right now, so there’s hardly anything to do except learn new and obscure techniques.
It’s pretty cheap, incidentally, about 50 cents per square foot. Available with or without military-print.

Thanks Hugh and Rebecca!

[ 01-16-2004, 09:15 PM: Message edited by: framanista ]