mat board question

VixSA

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Joined
Apr 29, 2024
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Cape Town
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PictureBox Framing
We have a very limited options of conservation quality mat boards in SA - I probably have 5 conservation quality (class 2) board options and 2 museum (class 1) board options, all in shades of white/cream. If I can't match the available options to a piece of art is it OK to use a non-conservation quality mat board (white core class 3) on top with a slightly smaller piece of conservation quality (class 2) board underneath(effectively a double layer of board on top of the art) so the normal board isn't touching the art? It effectively recesses the art slightly but it actually looks quite nice (I think). Just wanted to know from a technical standpoint if it was OK.
Vickie
 
I may be an old cynic but I do feel sometimes that people agonise a bit too much about 'Conservation'
and 'Archival' and 'Acid-Free' names when it comes to matboard. It can be highly misleading.
More depends on the composition of the art itself. Some 'art' papers can be very acidic and no amount
of 'conservation' grade matboard will ultimately save them. A good artist/printer will be conscious of this
and use good stuff and it will stand the test of time.
I've seen watercolors that have been next to very nasty matboard for 100+ years and not a trace of 'burn'.

You can rest easy in the knowledge that whatever you use is on a different planet to the stuff that was
available when I started off. 😅
 
Peter (Prospero) has a good point. There is some anecdotal evidence that under ideal environmental conditions the composition of the mat is of little consequence. I just wouldn’t hang my hat on that when there are options available.

I faced some of the same challenges as you when I started out. All the shop used was pulpwood matting, and I found and began introducing rag mats within the first year.

Alpha-cellulose and rag are all I stock now.

To answer your question: guidelines have it that no source of acidic gas from the oxidation of the wood protein lignin should be within 1” of the art.

Note that most of this acidic gas is released into the frame package from the bevel cut edge of the mat. The paper immediately next to it is most affected.

If you are in need of colored boards that are safe, learning the arts of hand embellishments would put you at an advantage as a framer.
The simplest is to paint the under mat with a neutral substance such as gouache to get some color. You only need to paint the surface that will show.
 
The simplest is to paint the under mat with a neutral substance such as gouache to get some color. You only need to paint the surface that will show.
Doing this is actually fun, because you can be as messy as you like on the surface of the undermat, and as soon as you put on the top mat it looks perfect, as the top mat acts like a mask for the lower one. This way, even if you only have conservation quality board available to you in white, you can create whatever color (and texture) surface on it you want as an inner accent.
:cool: Rick
 
I've removed the surface layer of the color you are looking for (conservation quality) and mount it to museum quality mat then cut my opening.
this will give you museum quality core with the color you want
 
I've removed the surface layer of the color you are looking for (conservation quality) and mount it to museum quality mat then cut my opening.
this will give you museum quality core with the color you want
The problem with doing that is that non-conservation boards are often colored with fade-prone dyes. Also, it may be difficult to get all the core paper off the back of the top ply sufficiently to provide a smooth mount to the conservation board.
:coffeedrinker2: Rick
 
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