The Framers Forum

Hi,

I have a couple of black mount projects on the go and I swear the board marks simply by looking at it! Not dirt, but scuffs that show up as shiny bits, if I slide it on the mount cutter a bit too harshly for instance.

On a shirt framing course they recommended using LJ Onyx as it doesn't mark as easily, but it wouldn't look right in these frames.

Any tips for reducing marks and removing any that appear? I am using a LJ black and a Colourmount Britecore (ouchy cost!)

I just dampen my finger and gently rub the board until the marks disappear. Just rub gently and it works every time. You could also use a cloth such as microfibre but it must be only slightly dampened.

Dampen with deionized water?

I tried rubbing gently with a dry cotton pad and the mark disappeared but to my eye left a slight colour difference. I could see colour residue on the cotton wool so it figures.

I second Onyx. Always had happy customers. If you don't offer the matte version, they can't choose it. Saying that, the black cotton rag mountboard can give similar issues but just needs to be treated with more care.

So do you offer only Onyx (other than your rag core)

These are black core and Brightcore (purple) so couldn't really be an alternative. I am gradually stopping showing mouldings I don't like working with, so maybe I should think about some mount boards too?

Yes indeed. I've never blacklisted a complete brand but I've certainly blacklisted some individual colours, particularly any that dramatically changed colour in artificial light. OK artificial light is going to make a bit of difference, but I've blacklisted a few colours which changed more than would normally be expected and totally altered the appearance of the picture.

Interesting food for thought, thanks.

Yup only Onyx and rag.

To do list: Weed out nasty samples I don’t want to work with