Wrinkles in Posters and Photos

Silverado

Grumbler in Training
Joined
Nov 25, 2001
Posts
5
Loc
Metairie, LA, USA
Can someone give me a technique to release posters /photos from foamcore? Also some posters come in with wrinkles (air gaps) what is a good way to solve this?
 
Depends on the adhesive used in the first place.

I used to have some apparent success removing bubbles from posters spray mounted by the guy down the street by putting the package in my Vacuseal press and putting them through the usual heat/pressure mounting cycle. I always suspected, but could never prove, that the fix was temporary. The same thing sometimes works with items on PMA or Perefct Mount.

If dry mount tissue was used, putting them back in a press and cooling them under weight might work.

If they are mounted with a roll-on adhesive, like Yes, I don't think there's much you can do, but they probably wouldn't bubble in the first place.

Actually removing the print from the fomecore is theoretically possible, but rarely practical unless the item is valuable. Then I'd talk to a conservator (who will wonder why a valuable item was mounted at all.)
 
Not to be too flipant but the best solution.....buy a new poster. Time involved fixing the problem will be of a much greater cost than the cost of a new poster.

Everytime we have taken one in, making someone else's problem our problem, we have been sorry. There is no easy fix.

But in answer to your question, if it has been mounted with fusion 4000, you can reheat it, start peeling, put a release paper under what you have peeled, reheat, peel, reheat, etc. When you are about 90% of the way finished, you will be bored with the process, not want to reheat again and you will try to force it the last 10% and tear the poster. At this point, you will have lost an hour of time and end up purchasing a new poster for your customer (at your expense).
 
Originally posted by Silverado:
...Also some posters come in with wrinkles (air gaps) what is a good way to solve this?
If the mounted posters have wrinkles, it was probably either a badly-done dry mount or a badly-done spray mount.

In either case, soaking the poster in adhesive release should do the trick. My method is to pour enough adhesive release onto the poster to cover its entire top surface, and lay on a cut-to-size piece of glass to slow evaporation. Then, to avoid the deadly fumes, seal the whole thing in a plastic trash bag and put it outside for a few hours. Check later to see if the poster is loose. If not, check whether the adhesive release is still wet. If not, add more and reseal.
 
Hi Jim_I thought for sure that you were agreeing with MaryAnn when you suggested to seal the whole thing in a plastic trash bag and put it outside for a few hours. Then check in a few hours to see if the trashman has picked it up.

What do we charge for this process? If any of us charge our normal shop charge for time/effort/material and remounting, I'm sure 99% of the clients would elect the "trashman" option as MaryAnn suggested.

But, just for fun, im, what would you charge for such a project?

See you next weekend, my friend. Is your dinner dance card filled up yet?

[ 02-13-2005, 12:24 PM: Message edited by: Bob Carter ]
 
If anyone gets a photo of Bob and Jim dancing together, and you need help posting it to The Grumble, let me know.
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I would only attempt what Jim is suggesting if I were the one that screwed up the mounting in the first place and it was absolutely impossible to replace the print at any price.

Since I don't mount irreplaceable prints, a can of Unseal lasts a really long time in my workshop.

I go through a lot of garbage bags, though.
 
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