Puzzle mounting question

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Jason M

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i have this 28" puzzle that i am floating on matboard. It is glued together somehow by customer with no backing on it so i will have to mounted on something so it doesnt fall apart over time in the frame. I was planing on floating it on foamboard to give it a raised look. Would it be a good idea to mount it to a backing first that has the self stick layer on it? (not sure what its called). Or should it be mounted straight to the self stick foamboard. It doesnt have to be reversable backing and i dont have a heat or vacuum press. I am thinking put a permanent backing and then mount to 1/8" foam. I have put backing on a puzzle years ago that you get at walmart but this is the first one I am doing as a framer and i want to learn how to do it the best way. Any advice on technique or product I am not familiar with will be appreciated.
 
And also a related but side question. what in yall's opinion is the best product as far as self adhesive board that yall use that doesn't require heat? I have only used instamount a few times for non valuable posters.
 
We tended to use Crescent self adhesive foam board. I don't think you need to put another product behind the puzzle first as long as it's stable enough to handle. You'll want to make the backing as close to the size of the puzzle without it showing so the edge pieces have as much contact as possible. If you can cut the backing with a bevel sloping back toward the backboard, the backing won't show as much.
 
the showing part is what is was thinking about too. If they make a thin self adhesive board that i can goo almost to the edge to catch all the pieces and them mount to a foamboard that is cut shorter by an inch maybe. So do you think one of the popular self adhesive board would be the best thing to mount to? I just didnt know if theere was any other techniques or products available. Also; do you think the self adhesive board is permanent enough after being pressed or rolled to hold enough and not fail over the months or years? I dont have enough experience to know the longevity of the adhesive
 
I don't think you really need to worry about putting another, thin layer between the puzzle and the foam board spacer. As far as the self stick adhesive holding up, we didn't have many problems, but there are no guarantees. You could use a wet mounting glue (there are several available) or acrylic medium. They will hold for sure. You'll want to put it on the spacer and then put the spacer on the puzzle. You'll have to put weight on it and use something stiffer than standard foam board like gatorfoam or mighty core.
 
That's an accident waiting to happen.
You will need to find out exactly what adhesive the owner used to glue it together, and possibly use the same product.
Many of the products sold to the public for these kind of projects are based on PVA glue and can be reactive to heat mounting resulting in the face of the puzzle sticking to whatever it is next to.
I wouldn't be all that concerned about conservation as the board the puzzle is cut from is probably full of lignin anyway. This should really be treated as a decorative piece and using FC to create the illuion of floating is fine. Just be sure that the piece dries under pressure (dead weight, not vacuum).
 
In addition to Wally's comment you could flip the puzzle over by using 2 sheets of a board of your choice. Once you have access you can apply a thin layer of any PVA glue and cover it while with a sheet of standard kraft paper. This can be done while the glue is wet or reactivate with an iron. The thin paper is easy to trim after this process for just about any mounding process.
 
There is no backing on it. It looks like it was just glazed over with a pva or someting. I can see the streak marks on the top in the glare. I have perfect mount board (not foam board). would that be permanent enough to hold for long term? pressure sensitive no heat. Or should i just use modge podge to glue a piece of mat board to it?
 
Pressure sensitive adhesives are prone to eventual failure. I have only used that kind of product (perfect mount, one step, etc.) with production, very low budget projects.
I like Jerry's suggestion of first using PVA (I think modge-podge is PVA) glue and stabilize the piece by gluing it to a thin substrate that can be easily trimmed.
After that the process of mounting it to a backing would be easier.
Just be careful with any heat treatments as the glue painted to the surface can reactivate and will bond to whatever it is touching.
 
I think I will go that route cause im just not trusting the self adhesive. Ill be thinking about it years from now waiting for it to come back in haha. THanks for all the opinions
 
Probably but I would stick with the ones that retain a bit of their elasticity, like ATG Turbo or any of the fabric or crafting glues. The ATG designed for wood joinery wouldn't work as well with the various layers reacting to environmental changes.
 
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