OOps - now what?

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JBergelin

JBergelin

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
Joined
Dec 14, 2004
Posts
374
Location
Big Rapids, Michigan
Oops it happened, the counted cross stitch marking her daughters marriage is damaged - abit slightly but still it has a light mark -any suggestions as to how to explain to the customer. Tried to remove the accidental mark but no avail and the buck stops here - I did it -now I have to face the customer - This is my first accident and I am looking for suggestions re customer relations.
 
What made the mark? Ink? Pencil? Dirt? Before you call the customer and "fess up", let's all put our heads together and see if we can come up w/something that will remove this "light" mark.
 
If it is linen as opposed to aida you might be able to reweave a few threads of the fabric. I know it sounds hard but I have had to do that twice over the years. It only works with a loose weave like linen though. If you pull a thread out thread at a time you can literally take a thread from the edge of the fabric and with a needle weave it up and over each thread and through stitches.

I know it sounds extreme but the first time I did it we were desperate.

Otherwise, if you fess up just be as contrite as possible and see what the customer expects.

Good luck! It has happened to us all.
 
For pen (ball point), take a white terry cloth or diaper, dab onto the cloth Johnsons BABY shampoo, no perfumes or addatives to set a stain.

Blot the mark: blot, blot, blot, blot, blot, blot, blot, blot, blot, blot, blot, blot,blot, blot, blot, blot, blot, blot, blot, blot, blot,
<font size=7>NEVER RUB!</font>

pencil: Neadum erasur. Try bloting with the erasur first before CAREFUllY rubbing.

Fruit juice, or Cherry Coke: Sorry, you're ****ed.

As a last resort, get a package of "Grab-it", follow directions. TO - THE - LETTER.

good luck. All else fails, throw yourself on the floor at their feet, kiss their shoes, whimper and whine. . . See Hanna, I AM trained. :D
 
Why not bring it to a local dry cleaner and see what he/she says. Did that once and the guy spot cleaned it at no charge. Brought by a dozen Krispy Kremes the next morning and he has sent business our way since.
 
thanks - it is aida cloth - I did not realize that the dried water based latex (that would not wash off the equipment) would transfer to the cloth when i stretched it with rubbing alcohol as per the attach-ez demo at the Atlanta Decor show.
 
If you look in a hardware store, you might find several cleaners that will safely dissolve dried latex paint. This is how I remove paint from my good clothes whcih I always wear to work and then decide to do some painting that day!

Indoor/Outdoor WOW cleaner is really great, as is Motsenbocker's LIFTOFF #3. LIFTOFF is really an amazing product - even removes correction fluid! And it comes with very precise directions that you must follow to the letter!

Good luck!
 
when i stretched it with rubbing alcohol as per the attach-ez demo
Click to expand...
:confused:

Would anyone care to elaborate on this?

I use Attach-EZ, but not for stretching cross-stitch. What's the alcohol for?

I don't think you should DRINK rubbing alcohol.
 
Another good product for removing things like this is "Kiss Off" available at (ahem) art supply stores and elsewhere I imagine.
 
Pat - please jump in and correct me if I'm wrong.

In the demos that I've watched, the alcohol spray is used to relax the fibers of the needlework for stretching.

I've done this with needlepoint but not with cross stitch.

Or you could just drink it.

Kit
 
The best product I have used to remove dried paint is called, Brush Flush and was recommended to me by the people who make Amaco Nail Hole filler.

We had a client who had a WHITE couch and she set a picture on top before hanging and there was some black nail nole filler that transferred to the top of the couch. It removed it perfectly! (Brush Flush was manufactured as a brush cleaner/restorer, meaning it softens and removes dried latex and acrylic paint - it may work for your situation).

www.brushflush.com
 
fessing forward is always best, straight, direct and berfore they just show up to pick up, offer to bring in a pro dry cleaner for their advise. Finish the job so it looks as good as it can. I would also put it on a sligthtly darker stretching board, sometimes that difference from white to cream does alot for a dirty piece, your customer may not see it as much as you do with your 'cursid framers eye'
 
Amidst all of this confusion, are you sure you did it! If this happens to be the lt. blue ada, it always has light variations in it when it is stretced. I have never figured out why they use it.
 
... when I stretched it with rubbing alcohol as per the attach-ez demo at the Atlanta Decor show.
Click to expand...
Ack. I had a feeling this would come back and bite some framer in the butt. The lady who was demonstrating the Attach EZ system in Atlanta was using it to stretch cross stitch. She used a mixture of alcohol and water sprayed on the needlework to relax it and make it easier to stretch. Granted, it did make it easier to stretch, but there was something about it that just didn't seem right.

What really surprised me was using one of those "disappearing ink" pens, apparently used in sewing, to mark the edges of the needlework. I cringed visibly when I saw that. She explained to me that it disappears on its own in a few days, or that it could be removed with alcohol. I knew darn well that the ink didn't just magically go away. It's still in the fabric, just not visible. Lord only knows what it will do ten, twent, fifty years down the road.
 
My advice to anyone using Alcohol when stretching textiles to remember that "Rubbing Alcohol" you buy in the drug store has Lanolin in it so that the alcohol doesn't dry your skin out. When using it for projects like this, you leave a greasy residue behind after the alcohol evaporates. You can buy pure Isopropyl Alcohol in small bottles but READ THE LABEL!
 
Jerry ;
We sell tose disappearing ink pens and your point is well taken.
>>>>It's still in the fabric, just not visible. Lord only knows what it will do ten, twent, fifty years down the road.<<<<<<
We have it from needlework guilds that the chemical base does indeed remain even when the teporary pigmentation goes away.Some of these pens have two sides a purple and a blue side. one the blue ,I think is removed with water and a q-tip. The purple evapoates with time . However Both leave chemical residue behind.
I would be cautious of the alcohol also ,because it is a solvent and can have an effect on some of the dyes in the work and as Jerry points out some do have Lanolin and other additives in them.
Can we say T E X T I L E C O N S E R V A T O R?
I think this is what they are for.sometimes we Framers know just enough to get ourselves in troble.I'd Opt to leave it to a REAL pofessional.
BUDDY
 
The best investment I ever made, well one of the best, an industrial steamer, cost about $299 and is actually available from the airline store, the magazine in the pocket when you fly. Steam does such a good job of stretching, both needlepoint and X stitch. I used to have a lady bring a needlepoint in that was so out of shape, before the steamer, it took hours to get it to block out, with the steamer it still took effort, but I would block and stretch at the same time. Cuts the time down drastically and your not adding anything to the fabric.
 
At this point I would not attempt any further removal of the mark. The worst case scenario is to do more damage in an effort to fix your first mistake.

I'd consult a conservator, and pay whatever the cost for proper conservation treatment.

But first I would talk with the customer & explain (A) the problem, and (B) my proposed solution.

It would be unfortunate for the customer to think this is a disaster. It's not. But it is a problem you need to fix as soon as possible, and with as little inconvenience to the customer as possible.
 
Amodex is pretty amazing for getting ball point and fountain pen inks out of fabric. Don't know about Latex paint though.

Dave Makielski
 
Denatured alcohol works for dried latex paint.
Working in a paint store for awhile, picked up some great tips!
Hope this helps
 
I'm not sure if I quite understand what exactly happened that would cause latex paint to get on a needlework from the use of alcohol. The EZ Stretch instructions address the use of alcohol when stretching needlework and state that alcohol should NEVER be used on non color fast, ink based, silk screen, or painted fabrics. The instructions on EZ Stretch also say that you should NEVER MIX WATER with the alcohol. The water will warp the boards when using the EZ Stretch method. The 70% straight out of the bottle alcohol is what is recommended for stetching, but I wouldn't drink it!

Ron, what they are referring to is my use of alcohol to stretch needlework using the Attach-EZ FF hand tool , 1/4" fasteners, and a method I developed called EZ Stretch.

On the advise of a dry cleaning man who owns 13 stores in my area and has 30 years experience in the business, I began using alcohol to take the wrinkles out of delicate pieces that could not be ironed without risk of damage. His advise was that alcohol would do no damage, would relax the fabric, and the wrinkles would disappear. It does exactly that and I have been using it for 10 years on just about every piece of needle work and wrinkled item that has come through my door. Nothing has ever shown signs of harm from it's use.

Some of my needlework show pieces are 9 years old and show no signs of damage from being stretched with the use of alcohol. Also, in 10 years I have never had a fabric piece, or needlework come back from a customer with any kind of problem. That includes sagging, losing it's stretch, or broken lacing.

All of the display items that I bring to the shows were soaked in alcohol, because they were very out of shape, before they were stretched. Anyone who has seen my demonstration has also seen me spray every one of the display pieces many times. All of them are still as vibrant as the day that they were completed by the artist.

As for the disappearing ink pens; they have been sold for years in fabric stores all over the county. If there is a problem from using them on fabric, then it is not just limited to the framing industry. Unfortunately we can't know what the long term effects are going to be on any of the products we use today, in or out of the framing industry. We just have to try to be as careful as possible, and to exercise good judgement when using any new methods or products.

Anyone who has a questions about the use of Attach-EZ products are encouraged to contact me for technical advise. Please call Fletcher for my 800 technical service number or E-mail me at attachezoms@aol.com with your phone number and I will contact you.

[ 01-06-2005, 09:05 PM: Message edited by: Pat Kotnour ]
 
Originally posted by FramerDave:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr /> ... when I stretched it with rubbing alcohol as per the attach-ez demo at the Atlanta Decor show.
Click to expand...
Ack. I had a feeling this would come back and bite some framer in the butt. The lady who was demonstrating the Attach EZ system in Atlanta was using it to stretch cross stitch. She used a mixture of alcohol and water sprayed on the needlework to relax it and make it easier to stretch. Granted, it did make it easier to stretch, but there was something about it that just didn't seem right.

What really surprised me was using one of those "disappearing ink" pens, apparently used in sewing, to mark the edges of the needlework. I cringed visibly when I saw that. She explained to me that it disappears on its own in a few days, or that it could be removed with alcohol. I knew darn well that the ink didn't just magically go away. It's still in the fabric, just not visible. Lord only knows what it will do ten, twent, fifty years down the road. </font>[/QUOTE]
 
It has been my experience that rubbing alcohol tends to dry things (like my hands), and I can't imagine that it would be good for fabric. When fabric starts to age, it becomes dry and brittle. Why would you do something to the fabric that would speed up the aging process?

As for the spot on the fabric, I would fess up and tell the customer, and go to a Conservator.
 
Everyone around here is raving about the wonders of CLEAR Windex. I wouldn't try it, but it just might work.
 
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