The Framers Forum

I often have customers who are keen on a cheap job ("I just want it framed"....you all know the ones!). I tend to use Tesa tape on everything, I know people always say to use gummed but I am happy and settled with the tesa.

When it comes to taping a deep rebated moulding (where the tape goes in three degrees) how do you get the corners looking smart and provide ample sealing? I have sat down a few times to try everything I can think of and it always looks a bit sloppy.

Thanks for your help, it is driving me mad!

I usually seal the glass/art/back with masking tape and then cover the back with wet tape.
In that case the visible tape is mostly cosmetic. Covers the framing points and hides any untidy
bits on the back of the frame.

The best thing you can do to tape a frame where the back is well below the back of the frame is to
run the tape along and make two cuts and fold in. This does leave a (slight) gap, but I have never
found this to be a big issue.
I suppose you could angle the cuts so that there is a little bit that tucks into the corner.

Tessa tape is good stuff, but over time the extra cost adds up a bit. Therefore I use the Sekisui top which still give up professional finish, but is cheaper than the Tessa, plus is has a water resistant finish. Cutting it in and getting a really neat finish takes a bit of practice, but the place where I was working while I got my training where quite fussy and trained me well.

I normally use the Simons conservation backing board which is water resistant on the rear face, so the Sekisui is about the best for getting good adhesion to this board, so most of my framing uses this board and Sekisui tape. I'm not against licky sticky tape, but there's not much chance of it sticking to most water resistant backing boards.

I'm in a damp part of the country, with quite a bit of older housing stock, so I have found that it pays to use a water resistant backing board and a water resistant tape. I'm not saying that this is absolutely perfect, but it does help quite a bit. However hot steamy bathrooms still need some really serious protection, which is obtained by taping up the whole package with Linco aluminium barrier frame sealing tape and using a Correx backing board.

Thanks very much chaps