Opinions Wanted practical opinions on Tru Vue (or other glazing) products ??

[Rebecca]

I'm working on article on glazing, and can get all of the specs from Tru Vue, but am interested in real life experience with their (or other manufacturers') products. For example:

My understanding is that the Reflection Control products are etched. Are they a step up from the old anti glare products that fuzzed up the look of the art, or have there been improvements? Are there special circumstances when you would chose this over the sputtered coating products?

Re the acrylic, it used to be that the acrylics that filtered out the greatest degree of UV also had a yellowish cast. Is that still the case? Are there any acrylics that are more scratch resistant than others?

Price aside, I'm interested in how you chose what products for what.

Thanks,

Rebecca

 

[Shayla]

I use conservation clear glass on most projects, with a few museum jobs
sprinkled in. We still offer regular glass, but since I give my entire glass quality story to every single customer, people who choose it know what they're getting. I have a couple die hard conservation reflection control customers, but I think the new version of it is really lame so far. I'm not a non-glare fan anyway, but it almost seems like they made this so crummy to try and get people to switch over to museum. Don't know if that's what they did, but if so it would be better to either go back to the other way or drop it altogether.

I've had great success with museum so far, and even the black suede I did with it the other day went great. But I've read stories from people on here who just loathe it. I figured it was just that they weren't careful, but in the past couple months, I've gotten some things that may be what they were talking about. Pieces with tiny shiny dots that don't wash off. And I had one where little splatters of the ink that's used to write the letters had fanned out onto the glass a couple inches. I love Museum, but it seems to me that at those prices every sheet should be in fantastic shape. They shouldn't be sending stuff out with flaws.

Except for Image Perfect (which I dumped as fast as I could once the choice was up to me), Tru Vue is the only conservation glass I've ever used. I really do love it, and hope they keep their quality up. My customers who have switched to Museum are all thrilled with it, but con. clear will probably continue as our mainstay.

I noticed they discontinued the scratch resistant con. clear acrylic last year and wondered if it was for the same reason I disliked it. I was so excited to have that product available, but it was almost impossible to get the cover paper off of it. With the other acrylics from them, I roll the cover paper off of it onto a cardboard tube, but this was just a nightmare. For a piece 18 x 24, it might take me twenty minutes of frustrating effort to get the cover off. The paper would tear but the stretchy plastic layer wouldn't have come off yet, and it was a real non-starter for getting us to offer it more.

 

[Joe B]

I've had great luck with all TruVue products and is the only glazing that I stock. My mainstay is the MG, I would say that about 50% of my sales is MG. It sells itself even though the price is high. If handled carefully there is no problems with scratching but I can remember a time that if you looked at the MG wrong it would scratch.
CC is my next best seller with approximately 40% if my sales. It is well priced and does a great job. The customers that pick the CC over the MG do so because of a budget.
I sell very little Reflection Control. From what I understand TruVue no longer etch the RC glass but spray some type of coating to stop the glare. It still distorts the artwork so no many of my customers are impressed with it.
Plain glass is just that PG. I use PG for most of my commercial customers. Main reason is because the commercial customer plans to change out the look every 6 months to a year and they aren't worried about fading and deterioration. Some of my commercial customers will also use Acrylic because of the safety factor - they hang the art in an area they are concerned about the picture dropping and shattering the glass causing injury.
Overall I sell very little Acrylic. The new Acrylic Optium is a great product but very expensive. I have used it only a couple of times because my customers don't want to pay the price and I can't afford to stock. When I have purchased there has always been left over product and it takes me months to sell it and I usually have to sell it at my cost or less. I really wish I would have more sales of the Acrylic because it is easy and safe to work with.
Well, this is my two cents - hope it helps.

 

[Candy]

I use TruVue conservation glass and musuem glass.

Museum glass does get glitter spots. However, I have found that the best way to handle that is with micro fiber cloth. I just go over the spots with the cloth and they will go away. Once in a very great while, I will get a spot that does not remove. I also use the glass with gloves so that I don't touch it. If I don't touch it, generally, I don't need to clean it. If I do have a situation where cleaner is required, I spritz the microfiber cloth with one or two quick sprays, pat the moisture into the cloth and gently rub the spot away. Using these tips, I have no more problem with Museum glass than I have with the conservation glass.

I was having trouble with scratching when cutting. I have solved that problem by putting a piece of suede mat board on the wall cutter. When cutting, I do hold the glass slightly away from the back of the cutter so that it isn't sliding against the metal or the board. However, it does touch the cutter, it is now touching the suede board. I sell this product frequently.

Conservation clear is my second choice. I generally handle this glass the same way I do museum simply because it works so well for me. I sell this product frequently.

Conservation reflection control is not my choice. I have never cared for this glass because of the "foggy-ness". I did do several pieces for my husband's office because of the extreme sunlight. I had to redo these from clear glass because they looked like mirrors. I will add that the finished product does look nicer than I would like to admit. I do not sell this product, but I have it available.

Acrylic is something that I don't work with. I do have it available. I did do some projects with the AR Acrylic (abrasian resistant) from Cyro. That was a really great product. I literally took steel wool to it to see if it would scratch and it didn't.

 

[Jim Miller]

My understanding is that the Reflection Control products are etched. Are they a step up from the old anti glare products that fuzzed up the look of the art, or have there been improvements?

The appearance of Reflection Control has not changed much in recent years. It still reduces the sharpness of reflection by a microscopically bumpy surface that diffuses the light -- and the image.

Tru-Vue still etches their non-conservation Reflection Control glass, but now uses a coating on Conservation Reflection Control, combined with the UV-filtering coating.

Are there special circumstances when you would chose this over the sputtered coating products?

The only advantage of Reflection Control over optically coated glass is price. Optically coated glass is superior in every regard other than economy.

...Re the acrylic, it used to be that the acrylics that filtered out the greatest degree of UV also had a yellowish cast. Is that still the case? Are there any acrylics that are more scratch resistant than others?

CYRO Acrylite OP-3 is not as yellow as it used to be. Museum Optium Acrylic, which is Acrylite OP-3-AR with the Tru-Vue optical coatings, looks as good as Museum Glass, IMO.

...Price aside, I'm interested in how you chose what products for what.

For general purposes I recommend Museum Glass. When weight or shatter-resistance are issues, Museum Optium Acrylic is the first choice. When price is a slight issue but optical clarity is still desired, I suggest AR instead of Museum Glass, or Optium Acrylic instead of Museum Optium Acrylic. When price is a bigger issue than clarity, Conservation Clear is next. I very seldom sell Premium Clear or any version of Reflection Control.

 

[Rebecca]

Thank you all very much for the thought and time you put into your answers. It is very helpful, and I will give a great big thanks to the Grumble in the article.

Rebecca

 

[Ylva]

I only stock Truvue, cc, refl.control and museum. My default is conservation clear. I have several samples on my wall, framed with different glass. About 60% of all jobs is cc., 20% museum and 20% reflection control. The latter mostly on photographs. Yes, there might be some image loss, although not visible to most people it seems when I show them my samples. Still better than regular glare mirror effect.
Problem with museum glass is mostly in the name.... people think 'very expensive' right away, just of the name 'museum'. I end up pricing out all 3 options most of the time.
Haven't had an acrylic job just yet.

 

[Nancy W]

Here are some scenarios for why I suggest the different types of glass.

"This will hang over the crib" =Plexi.
" I framed everything in the 70's, everything has Non glare" ( retired, bearly hanging onto middle class status)=Non Glare
" I would rather not put glass on my needlework"= Cons clear/Museum.
" This is a gift from all of us" = Museum
"I will switch out this poster within three years" ( college student zero dollars) = Reg glass
"this is really big!" = Plexi
"I will be mailing this"= Plexi
" I want this to look great"= Museum
"I have french doors"(strong geometric patterned light)= Museum
"I have a dark colored mat"= museum
" I live in California" =Plexi/Museum
"I want to look at the back of the art"= Museum in front, plexi behind.
"money is no object" =Optium, museum
" I dont want to have to use ammonia free cleaner"= Cons clear/museum
" This will hang in the kitchen, the glass will be scrubbed" =Cons Clear/reg
" this is my budget $_.__" =Reg / cons clear
" I want to hang this outside" =Plexi


We only sell Tru Vue products. I sell precious little reg glass any more. It is about even between Cons clear and museum with museum gaining ground all the time in the percentage wars. Plexi is 'a special reason' choice, Op3 or not.

 

[Rebecca]

Thank you all again. It was quite something sorting through all of the different qualities of them all, but I think I got it! It is a short and sweet article (space limits) aimed at the consumer who is unfamiliar with it all; if anyone wants an e-mailed copy let me know.

Rebecca

 

[Joe B]

Rebecca, Why don't you post the article here so all of the Grumblers can read it. There is more than likely going to be some good information in the article that all can use as a selling tool. Just a thought. Joe

 

[Rebecca]

There you go

Formatting is a bit wonky in the paste and copy version here, but there you go. I could have gone into more detail, but didn't due to space retstriction.

I can see clearly now – or can I?
Rebecca Pavitt www.fineartconserve.com

Not so long ago, there were limited choices for picture frame glazing: float glass, non-glare glass, and acrylic. There are now quite a variety of options available, and it is my hope that this article will help the consumer sort through this often confusing array.

Float glass often has a green tinge, blocks less than half of Ultra Violet light and, depending on the location of the light source, reflects about 8% of visible light back at you as glare. Non-glare glass is etched on one side so that reflected light is scattered thereby reducing glare. Etching gives the glass a foggy appearance though, which can obscure the underlying artwork. Acrylic is relatively light-weight, and shatter resistant, making it a good choice for large pieces. It scratches easily (and so requires special cleaning agents), and holds static electricity, making it a poor choice for fragile media.

In the 1980’s a new, very exciting line of glass made just for artworks was marketed by Denglas. Its products included clear float glass which did not distort color, anti-reflective coating to reduce glare without obscuring the art, and UV filtering coating. Denglas is no longer produced; Tru-Vue now makes almost all high end picture framing glass.
TRU VUE GLASS PRODUCTS
• All of their glass is clear float.
• Their UV filtering coatings block 99% UV rays between 300 and 380 nm.
• Their anti-reflective coatings show fingerprints easily, so are best handled with gloves and cleaned with microfiber cloths spritzed with rubbing alcohol.
• Available in sheets up to 40 x 60 inches.

Museum Glass: UV filtering coating on one side, and glare reduction coating on both sides.
Conservation Clear: UV filtering coating on one side.
Premium Clear: No coatings. 45% UV blocked, as with regular float glass.

For situations where glare is a problem and budget a concern, Tru Vue makes etched glass. The characteristic fogged appearance increases the further the glass is from the art, so this is not a good choice for deep frames.

Conservation Reflection Control: UV filtering coating and etched surface on one side.
Reflection Control: Etched surface on one side.
 

ACRYLIC PRODUCTS
Generically known as acrylic sheet, much of the product used by the picture framing industry is made by Evonik Industries, with the trade name Acrylite. Acrylite products most commonly used in framing are: FF-3 plain clear, P-99 clear etched, and OP-3 with UV filtering built into the sheet (not a coating). F-33, P-99 and OP-3 are also available with an abrasion and chemical resistant coating, designated by prefix MR (marr resistant).

• Unless optically coated, acrylics reflect 8% of light (like glass)
• FF-3 and P-99 filter 66% UV light
• OP-3 products filter 98% UV light but have a slight yellow cast
• Unlike other acrylic products, MR products can be cleaned like glass

Tru Vue markets FF-3 as Premium Clear; P-99 as Reflection Control, OP-3 P 99
as Conservation Reflection Control. It does not market MR products.

UNIQUE TRU VUE ACRYLIC PRODUCTS

Optium Museum Acrylic is OP-3 MR with Tru Vue anti-reflective coating on both sides. UV filtration is, like other OP-3 products, 98%. Available in 6 mm thickness up to 72 x 120 inches.
Optium Acrylic: FF-3 MR with Tru-Vue anti-reflective coating on both sides. The combination of MR and optical coatings increases UV filtration to 93%.

• Optium products have an antistatic coating, making them safe to use with friable media like unfixed pastels. Under certain lighting conditions they can show a pink cast, so a sample should be viewed in situ before using.
• Optium products must not be cleaned with plexi-cleaner. Rubbing alcohol spritzed onto clean microfiber cloth works best.

Special thanks to Browning and Company and members of The Picture Framers Grumble who helped greatly with my research for this article.