Removing old tape HELP

Rusted One

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Mar 2, 2021
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Western Australia
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Rusted Imaging
Looking for some suggestions please.
I have to reframe some art that's been taped all round. I have tried heat and I have tried a sample with water. It looks like masking tape but I don't think it is. What ever it is, it has a pretty good bond to the paper. The paper has some significant UV damage and is cockling under parts of the tape too.
 

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This is probably a job for a paper conservator.
From the information supplied, I'm guessing this to be an offset lithograph. Clarification on that would be helpful.
It does look to be masking tape. If so, volatile solvents in the hands of an expert is probably the only path to removal.
If any staining has occurred, that is likely permanent.

My guess is that the damage is done, and with fading, remedial treatments may not be available.
I would, with the owners consent, cut the tape at the edge of the paper and remove what I could.
The tape and its adhesive will continue to degrade.

I would also check for potential replacement as opposed to restoration.
Another option is scanning, digital restoration, and printing, depending largely on copyright laws.
 
I ditto the conservator route

The only other thing you can do is cut through the tape, without cutting the art
Sometimes the masking tape is very brittle, if it's old, and might come off in pieces
Just advise your customer that it might continue doing damage. Even if you can remove the tape, you can't remove the glue residue.
 
A lot will depend on how much the customer is prepared to spend on this.

For proper removal of the tape and restoration you definitely need a conservator. Fast and dirty you could just cut around the tape, reframe what is left and let the customer enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

Some people do actually prefer the "naturally aged" look of old artwork, in fact one of my clients saw a John Gould lithograph which I had had restored and framed and commented that, for him, its value had been destroyed and he would not buy it.:shrug:
 
Masking tape falls into two species:
On one the adhesive will dry up and the carrier will pop off easily. It will still leave residue though...
On the other sort it will go very gooey. In that case the best course is to run a sharp blade along it so
the artwork can be released. If the client does not want to pay for restoration then don't attempt to
remove the tape still clinging to the art. In this state there is alway the option of restoration in the future.
If you try and pull it of then you will likely tear chunks out of the paper. Having said that it highly likely
that the damage is irreversible once the adhesive has permeated the fibres of the paper.
 
Masking tape falls into two species:
On one the adhesive will dry up and the carrier will pop off easily. It will still leave residue though...
On the other sort it will go very gooey. In that case the best course is to run a sharp blade along it so
the artwork can be released. If the client does not want to pay for restoration then don't attempt to
remove the tape still clinging to the art. In this state there is alway the option of restoration in the future.
If you try and pull it of then you will likely tear chunks out of the paper. Having said that it highly likely
that the damage is irreversible once the adhesive has permeated the fibres of the paper.
Thank you all for your sage advice. In the end the customer didn't want to spend the money on a conservator so I trimmed off what was outside the actual art then measured it up to create a mat that just covers the tape but left an equal amount of the old faded paper to create a natural border between the art and the mat. The customer is over the moon with the result so I'm happy and I know there's something left for a conservator later on.
 
A lot will depend on how much the customer is prepared to spend on this.

For proper removal of the tape and restoration you definitely need a conservator. Fast and dirty you could just cut around the tape, reframe what is left and let the customer enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

Some people do actually prefer the "naturally aged" look of old artwork, in fact one of my clients saw a John Gould lithograph which I had had restored and framed and commented that, for him, its value had been destroyed and he would not buy it.:shrug:
The same kind of "naturally aged" artwork preference was once demonstrated after the Sistine Chapel's Michelangelo's paintings were finally cleaned after centuries of dirt, soot & grime were removed & the frescoes original colors revealed: Many critiques were launched against the restorations' color revelations; many preferred the yellowed, dirty, precleaned colors to those of Michelangelo's post-painting ones. Go figure.
 
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