The Framers Forum

I am about to order some rolls of black paper to use for sealing the backs of frames. It will be cut into strips to use in place of the usual gummed paper tape. So far I've drawn a blank on getting the ideal glue / gum and I don't want to use PVA. Any ideas please.
Thanks in anticipation.

Good question.

Wallpaper paste?????

Hi Prospero,

I was thinking the same, but I'm not convinced that it is a particularly good choice. You used to be able to buy Gloy gum in big bottles, but Pritt-Stick bought them out and put a stop to that.

Years ago framers bought up tea chests from the tea companies to use the plywood for backing boards. In those days they also used the blue / grey paper from between the foil lining and the plywood to seal the backs. The glue they used was either pearl glue or rabbit shin glue which they had to boil in a glue pot. After they had heated it to liquify it, if it had enough water added it would then remain liquid at room temperature. The principle ingredient in both these glues was probably gelatine.

I wonder how close this comes to what's in the gum on normal gummed paper tape. No doubt the formulation has been perfected over the years, but I would guess that gelatine and glycerine are probably in the formula somewhere.

Well, if you are going to go to the trouble of cutting large rolls in to thin strips and than pasting them - that's two things you have to do and only one of those things can be done in advance - cutting the strips - the paste is going to have to be used straight after application.

Gummed paper tape is brown, but at least the messy bit has ben done and can be reactivated with water.

So, if you are prepared to gum black strips of paper, why not paint pre-gummed brown strips black? Then you could do it in batches - as long as you could successfully rewind the rolls of tape.

(Taking care not to activate the adhesive of course!!)

Wouldn't it be even easier to paint the tape once applied to the back of the frame even? A fairly creamy acrylic mix dries in no time.

In USA, it is standard practice to use foamboard as a backing, rather than MDF. Once that is in place, custom (bespoke sounds posher) framers then paper over the whole of the back. Black, brown or patterned papers are all popular.

This is normally held in place with a band of ATG tape right around the back of the frame. A careful squirt with a water sprayer should cause it to go drum tight.

It is then trimmed with a special knife with an inset blade so that the edge of the paper is set back from the outside edge of the moulding by about 3mm.

The finished effect is neat and professional and quick to achieve. Probably easier than slicing paper and gluing it into place. And, yes, you guessed, by an amazing coincidence, all those items are in our catalogue!

See you at the Spring Fair. Hop off the bus from the car parks at the first stop and walk straight into Hall 12.

Martin Harrold wrote:
See you at the Spring Fair. Hop off the bus from the car parks at the first stop and walk straight into Hall 12.

Then go 'OUCH' rub head and find the door

(Sorry)

I use the black Kraft paper routine that Martin reported except I usually use White Glue rather than ATG.

The continuous bead of glue around the perimeter of the frame gives a pretty good seal. I chose to use glue rather than ATG ‘cause its a whole lot cheaper and, in the event needing to remove the paper, it is easier. Just moisten the seal and the glue goop scrapes off easily.

To remove ATG, you almost need a solvent. … and, when you use ATG around the perimeter of the frame moulding, you end up changing the roll too frequently to my liking. (As long as I’ve been doing it, I keep forgetting which way the roll fits into the gun.)

Bill Henry wrote:...when you use ATG around the perimeter of the frame moulding, you end up changing the roll too frequently to my liking. (As long as I’ve been doing it, I keep forgetting which way the roll fits into the gun.)

That's the lovely thing about Scotch ATG guns. The little arrows save me from myself every time I change the tape!

Bill Henry wrote:... White Glue....

Bill, is this what I would refer to as PVA, or another adhesive?

Moglet wrote:... White Glue....

Bill, is this what I would refer to as PVA, or another adhesive?[/quote]

I think you will find that it is a starch based glue. There are lots recipes for white glue on the web.

I'm not sure we are allowed to say white glue.

I think we have to say IC1 glue, or something.

white glue = PVA

Note: There are many grades of PVA. Some have fillers, and are rather thin... and others are "pure". Unless you are doing conservation work, it really does not matter what you use. Some have a set time of 15 minutes.. others 1 minute... All have a "cure time" of about 12-24 hours

White glue can be found in office supplies - school supplies - art supplies - woodworking supplies.

When joining frames, I prefer the 1-5 minute "set time" versions such as MAXIM® and CORNER WELD® . They have a higher "PVA solids" content. In just about all cases the final strength, after cure time, is as strong or stronger that the actual wood. There are also specifically formulated for our industry.

Jerome beat me to it and summarized it better than I could, Àine.

I don’t know if it is continent specific, but we use Elmer’s glue – a ubiquitous compound sold almost everywhere (supermarkets, craft stores, convenient stores, etc.). It has a cutsie image of a “contented cow” on the label. Elmer’s is a favorite in schools since most kids end up eating the stuff at one point in their lives.

Apparently, this white glue is a variation of PVA but rather than containing organic solvents, it contains water and has a shelf live of over a year unless it is frozen – then it doesn’t work at all.

It doesn’t have quite the strength of the yellow carpenter’s variety. Apparently, it is white because of the water (rather than the usual solvents) used in the manufacture.

Again, we use it because it is very cheap and cleans up easily with water.

I use black craft paper as a dust cover and Frank's Fabric Adhesive applied to the backside of the frame with a small foam paint roller. I'm not sure if Frank's is available overseas or not but any PVA should work as well.

A slight spritz with H2O and placing the paper on the back then allowing it to dry and slicing along the edge of the frame with a sharp razor blade makes for a very neat package.

I also use a cordless iron (Oreck) and run it along the backside edges which seals and totally flattens the dustcover along the frame. Heat reactivates the adhesive and makes the bond strong.

The nice thing about this method is that, unlike ATG tape, if you accidentally line up the dustcover wrong it is quite easy to pull it right off and reposition it without any additional application. I've even run my iron along the edge and removed and reused the paper backing after a package was totally fit up and I noticed a speck of dust on the interior of the package.

I have recently ordered some powdered "gum arabic" to make the same kind of gum which is on normal gummed paper tape. I intend to buy a second tape wetting machine and fill the water tank with gum arabic glue. I will use this to apply the glue before applying my black paper tape to the frame back.

Bill Henry wrote:I don’t know if it is continent specific, but we use Elmer’s glue

I think that stuff has wabbit glue in it - but it has to be wabbit season for best effect

Roboframer wrote: I think that stuff has wabbit glue in it - but it has to be wabbit season for best effect

You may be right, John, but you misspelled rabbet, you kwazy kwitter, you!