The Framers Forum

Hi

I have been asked to do a relief map which is about 1m Square. It’s plastic with a white surround and the client has made a hole in this presumably where it’s been hung by a nail. So I need to cover this with a mount.

What sort of moulding do I use? A tray frame? If so do I use adhesive to stick it to frame? I’m worried about it falling out!

Haven’t done one of these before and while I am not fazed by much, I couldn’t find any “useful 1980s American” YouTube videos to help me!

So any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

If you use a mount, it will have to be set behind glass - is this what the customer is expecting? I did one a while ago for a customer who didn’t want glass, and wanted the map to be in a standard frame with the relief standing proud of the frame.

To get rid of the hole and avoid the need for a mount, the customer might agree to the border being trimmed.

Good to see you back on the Forum!

Few options:

1. Use a normal frame with a deep enough rebate to cover a good amount of the flat edging of the map, which should also cover the hole made by the previous hanging method. The map will be proud of the front face of the frame though, so the customer may not like that.

2. Use a deep frame and set the map back using spacers, which could be painted to match the frame itself if needed. This may cover the hole made previously. You could glaze this option, but most people don't want this kind of map glazed.

With both methods you could tape the map around all edges to a backing board which will keep it in position.

3. You could use a tray frame, using something like self adhesive foam tape to hold the map in position, but that won't cover the hole made previously. That would be the most vulnerable version of framing it.

It is likely to be the appearance the customer is going for that will drive which option you choose.

One final thought on possibly disguising the hole - mix up some acrylic paint to the same colour as the surrounding plastic and then fill the hole in layers, let each one dry before adding the next, until the hole has been filled and is far less visible.