Old Wrinkled poster of a young Marilyn Monroe!!

[Rozmataz]

I have an old poster that was never mounted and was in a metal frame for many years.

It is terribly wrinkled and warped and has been subjected to moisture. The paper is very dry and brittle.

I have the customer's okay to mount this in hopes of taking out some wrinkles.

Wondering the best way to approach this! (Besides a steam iron! only joking.)

Thanks,

Roz

 

[Ron Eggers]

Roz, you didn't mention what kind of mounting equipment you have. In my experience, wet mounting in a vacume press will do the best job of removing serious wrinkles. If the print is just rippled, a heat press will do just fine.

 

[fttom]

Roz, I just got around to reading Chris Paschke's mounting article in the Sept issue of PFM. She recommends surface laminating with a textured film to disguise the creases. As she states, the creases will never come out, but textured laminating film will cover up a lot of them, and make them a lot less noticable. Also, this is my own solution. Put it in the dry mount press, if you have one available. Leave it there, if it can take the heat, at around 190 degrees for 15-20 min. That will usually take a lot of them out, also. Good luck.

 

[Ron Eggers]

"Wrinkled and warped" is handled differently than "creased and cracked." If the coated surface of the poster is cracked, it won't come out, in which case fttom's solution sounds reasonable. If it's "just" wrinkled, you can maybe salvage it with mounting.

 

[rosetl]

A lot of old posters of Marilyn are collectables -- so some attention to actual preservation of the picture would be quite acceptable.

If the client really wanted the warping out I'd probably do something similar to the canvas mounting technique -- full surface wet starch paste mount on rag board utilizing vacuum press.

I would not use any heat (which removes moisture) to anything that is already very dry and brittle.

 

[Rozmataz]

Ron, I have a Seal drymount press. I also have access to someone with a vacuum press.... There are no creases in this poster, just major buckling...

Also, the customer realizes there may be some "value" to this and is okay with mounting it. It has a faux "Marilyn" signature on it... must have been a joke to someone at some point in its history!!

Thanks, again!

Roz

 

[Ron Eggers]

Roz, there is a risk here. If the buckling is major - and that's hard to assess even by looking at it - there's a chance that mounting will flatten it with tight little creases that cannot be removed by any means.

I've mounted about 10,000 posters and prints and I've gotten pretty good at estimating the risk if the poster is less than pristine. Sometimes I guess wrong and I always make sure the customer knows that mounting is risky and irreverseable.

I wish I could look at it and give you an opinion, but I could be wrong even then.

 

[Rozmataz]

Ron, I wish you could look at it, too!! I have dealt with paper over the years - but certainly have not mounted or handled anywhere near as many as you.. and my gut says "be careful"... as it is risky. I will look at it again and try to assess how buckled the paper is and cross my fingers before I do anything!!!

One of the fun things in this business (and the business I was in for so many years) is the problem solving required to do the job - I just love it!! But you and fellow grumblers make it so much easier. I can't thank you enough.

Happy Holidays,
Roz

 

[Less]

"(Besides a steam iron! only joking.)"
That's what I would do.

I would lightly iron it from the back and dry mount it to 4-ply rag with Seal Archival dry mounting tissue. I am always amazed at what my Seal 4366M+HS (heated vacuum)will flatten out. 200* at 6 min.

 

[job]

I wouldn't dry mount it on a bet. First the ripples need to be relaxed. It needs to be put in a humidity chamber. Then it needs to be dried between blotters. After that it should not be dry mounted, it should be hinged. The fact that it is Marilyn Monroe makes it collectible and worth doing properly or not doing it at all. It is the kind of thing that could come back and bite you later.

If you do a search for "humidity chamber" the Grumble, you will find 7 entries. Good luck! It's not something you can rush.