Float mounting tape?

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Buster
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Float mounting tape?

Post by Buster »

I have been asked to float mount several oil paintings on board (Masonite??), they are not big at around 30x30cms, but I am still unsure at what would be the most secure method pass-through or hedgehog, but more importantly which tape would be strong enough. They are artist originals and I would like to stay conservation, but with the board having those little indentations I’m unsure of the stability of different gummed tapes or conservation alternatives? Any help would be greatly appreciated..
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prospero
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Re: Float mounting tape?

Post by prospero »

Different discipline required for art of boards. Forget any methods employed in mounting paper-borne art.

Thing is, artists frquently want the impossible. :lol: The abiding principle with original art is that you should be able to
un-frame it and see no 'alterations'. Or as they say in the trade, 'mutilations'. :shock:

Fact is, you can't float mount a thin board without gluing something to it. This is generally irreversible - therefore classed as damage.
OK, it's maybe not at all likely that the work will acquire great value in future times but who knows?

If the artist is agreeable, I would glue some wood blocks to the back - just thick enough to take a short screw. Short enough to
go into the block but not penetrate the board. Fix it to something sturdy. MDF or plywood backer. If you want the art flush, then
build up packing around (foamcore?) and face it with mountboard (assuming it's going under glass). This allows the art to be easily
removed from the frame -albeit the wood blocks would be permanent.

** If the artist had anticipated float mounting, they really ought to have fixed blocks or a subframe to the back prior to painting.
That way the work could be floated in it's 'original' state.
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Jim Miller
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Re: Float mounting tape?

Post by Jim Miller »

Another possibility would be to attach the boards using what I call Formed Rod Mounts; spring steel "piano wire" bent to fit (in this case, into hook shapes conforming to the edges), covered in polyolefin shrink tubing. The shrink tubing is an electrical-industry product used to insulate wire connections. It comes in several colors, but I prefer to use matte black and paint the exposed segments using acrylic airbrush colors intermixed to match.

If you do this, bend the rods using what I call the "pegboard principle". That is, bend the back-segment of each mount (the part behind the mounting substrate) so that the end of the rod sticks up. Fluted polypropylene board, such as Coroplast or Matraplast brands, makes an excellent substrate, as you can encapsulate the mounts in the air spaces between the flutes using hot-melt, epoxy, or another hard-setting glue. Illustrated instructions are in The Complete Guide to Shadowboxes and Framing Objects.

For this application, probably five mounts would do: two on the bottom edge near the corners, one centered on the top, and one centered on each side.

You could also make similar mounts using clear acrylic formed by heat, but they would be more fragile and more difficult to anchor in the substrate.
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Re: Float mounting tape?

Post by Not your average framer »

For UK readers:

Coroplast is a product name better known in the USA and it is equivalent to Correx which is a UK product name. To avoid buying larger quantities than I will ever use, I buy Correx from my local packaging supplier, where I can buy individual sheets from their trade counter.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
Jim Miller
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Re: Float mounting tape?

Post by Jim Miller »

Thank you, Mark. By the way, white 4 mm fluted polypropylene is my favorite worktable cover, as well. Cheap, cleanable, replaceable, non-abrasive.
cleaver
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Re: Float mounting tape?

Post by cleaver »

If I may piggyback this thread:

My Mrs has an oil painting she really likes - done on thick card. I know/she knows to forget conservation with something painted on glorified cardboard!

When I say cardboard, it's that grey strawboard (as I know it). Anyway, we want to end up with it float mounted behind glass (glass, partly to help protect it, as it's been painted on iffy material...and partly to posh it up/give a contrast).

Would you recommend the wood blocks stuck to the back of the strawboard prospero described....or could we do it hedgehog' with heavy-duty paper hinges (as it's just thick card)? Hoping strong hinges will do it, as we don't want it raised much.

The artwork is about 60 x 40cm, on strawboard that's 3mm thick approx.

:)
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prospero
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Re: Float mounting tape?

Post by prospero »

How I would deal with Mrs Dan's painting. ....

Assuming that the paint side of the board was well primed and there are no oily patches on the back....

Get a piece of 9mm MDF(12mm better) the same size as the board.

Get two pieces of 19mm chipboard (8' x 4' sheet cut in half?)

Get some silicone release paper and some foam sheet such as used in a vac press .

Put a piece of release paper bigger then the painting face up on one of the chipboards. Place the MDF sheet on this.

Cover liberally with Unibond (PVA adhesive used for sealing plastered surfaces)

Place painting on this followed by more release paper(face down). Foam on top of this.

Put the second chipboard on top to form a big sandwich.

Pile as much weight on top as you can (empty the bookshelves)

Leave at least 24 hrs.


You will then have something substantial. :D To attach in frame you can then glue wood blocks (wood, not particle board) to the
back. Bigger works can use strips of wood. You can just screw into the MDF itself if it's thick enough, but MDF does not take screws well.
The edge can be painted black for appearance sake. Also good idea to seal the back with Unibond.


Or, she could just prime/paint on the MDF to save all that faffing about. Grey board is sort-of OK. It isn't going to self-destruct in normal conditions.
Ready made canvas boards are based on similar stuff - wrapped with canvas. They aren't really meant for posterity though. Just quick sketches that
are never intended to be framed. For 'serious' work you need to give thought to long term survival. :D
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cleaver
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Re: Float mounting tape?

Post by cleaver »

Great stuff as ever, prospero.

Yes, it was sod's law she painted something she likes so much on a dodgy substrate.....be maybe that's why it's nice: done freely without any expectations/pressure.

My ambition is to get to the stage where I just know as much as y'all have forgotten about framing! :clap:

BTW, just watched a 10-part(!) video on Youtube of an Aussie guy framing a boxing glove. Looked great, except when he had to bend foam board around the back for a backing board (but maybe that's correct.... WTFDIK!!).
Buster
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Re: Float mounting tape?

Post by Buster »

What can I say!!..brilliant support :rock: Thank you.
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