I'm stretching a fairly large acrylic painting on canvas (48x60) that was brought to us rolled up. It hadn't been rolled around a tube and consequently the canvas has horizontal ripples. I don't have much canvas to grab, just enough to grab with canvas pliers to pull around the back. The canvas is pretty tight, but not tight enough to stretch out the ripples. Any suggestions? I'm considering spritzing the back with water and hitting it with a heat gun to try to shrink the ripples out.
Stretching ripples out of large canvas?
- Thread starter Echobelly
- Start date
Mary Beth van der Horst
SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Ah the old water shrinky trick! I know most people advise against it, but I'm certainly guilty of employing it when I've done the best I can and theres still a saggy corner or ripples to iron out. I was taught by my old painting instructor in college that you should use hot water, swish it around the whole backside(or problem area), dump it out immediately and leave in a well ventilated place to dry asap. I'm wary of a heat gun since acrylic softens under high heat. I usually take it outside if it's breezy or park it with the wet back facing a sunny window to dry, after shaking it and sopping up excess moisture with rags/paper towels, and turn it every 30-60 minutes in case water pooled into a stretcher. For the water, I take a coffee mug full of water, almost boil it in the microwave, and then dump it on the back. I've gotten some really dramatic dents out of old canvases like that, where spritzing with a tiny bit of moisture never did much for me. Just giving my anecdotal experience, and again, I think others would say my practice might be extreme, but hey, it's saved me quite a few restretchings.
I would place the painted canvas on a flat table over a humidified blotter board(s) with weight over the package to stabilize over a few days. You might have to place something over the paint layer in addition to a sheet of release film for a cushion against the weight such as plates of glass.
First thing first. Are you using a strainer, or actual stretchers?
What is your customer's expectation (as I will always prepare them for the worst case scenario when I can't get it stretched that tight)
What is your customer's expectation (as I will always prepare them for the worst case scenario when I can't get it stretched that tight)
The entire canvas needs to be treated at the same time, as in Jerry's suggestion.
Working locally with a mister or a heat gun can cause more problems.
The canvas needs to be humidified uniformly and dried the same way.
The blotter paper works, but if you have a way to lower the temperature of the canvas then expose it to Florida humidity, that would work as well as blotter paper.
As per Ylva's suggestion, tensionable stretchers would be an advantage.
Working locally with a mister or a heat gun can cause more problems.
The canvas needs to be humidified uniformly and dried the same way.
The blotter paper works, but if you have a way to lower the temperature of the canvas then expose it to Florida humidity, that would work as well as blotter paper.
As per Ylva's suggestion, tensionable stretchers would be an advantage.
I'm glad you have had success with that technique, but I have to say it give me the heebie-jeebies just reading about it. Not knowing exactly how the canvas was prepared before painting, I would be very nervous about introducing that much moisture into it. Sounds very risky.
Rick
I've had to do this a few times with 'tourist' paintings. You must use keyed stretchers.
I mist the waves/bumps very gently. A airbrush is the best implement. Try not to moisturise
it in localised areas. Start with a wavy area and 'feather' the misting. It's important to have it
quite tight before doing this. After misting leave it to dry and observe if the waves are flattening.
Chances are it will not do it in one go. If not, give the all the wedges a tap and repeat the process.
The key thing is to go gently, a bit at a time. Never had one that this didn't work on.
I mist the waves/bumps very gently. A airbrush is the best implement. Try not to moisturise
it in localised areas. Start with a wavy area and 'feather' the misting. It's important to have it
quite tight before doing this. After misting leave it to dry and observe if the waves are flattening.
Chances are it will not do it in one go. If not, give the all the wedges a tap and repeat the process.
The key thing is to go gently, a bit at a time. Never had one that this didn't work on.
Success! It took a lot of manhandling which will make many of you wince. I sprayed the back liberally with distilled water and rubbed it in to make sure the canvas was fairly wet, then from the back (the painting was stretched on a strainer, no keys) basically pushed on the canvas stretching it to stretch out the ripples, then shrank it back with a heat gun. It took a few tries, but there is no longer any evidence of the ripples. I was lucky that the canvas was fairly heavy and the paint was thin acrylic. I wouldn't have attempted it with oil paint.
If your area has extremes in humidity/temperature like mine does, I'd count on those ripples coming back after a few months. Good luck though!
Eric A
CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
I deal with this a lot! I do pretty much what you did. I spray pretty heavy with water on the back and let it sit for 15 minutes then stretch tight and then put it in our spray booth that has a dehumidifier in it for several hours till dry and it is perfect every time. I have never had one come back in 20 years.