Mounting heavy artwork

[vividP]

I've offered to help out a friend who has a couple of large paintings on paper that have been framed but have dropped down in the frame/mount ie the attaching sticky has failed. You can see where one of them has been taped across the whole of its width - is this right? If someone would suggest the best method of reattaching I'd be very grateful - artwork size is about 36" wide, 24" high looks like heavy paper. Without knowing better I'd tape it back with a couple of double width 'ears' with my trusty roll of ph neutral sticky tape - how would that be?

Many thanks
P

[framemaker]

Hi VividP
Was it a self adhesive or water activated tape used to hinge them before which failed?

I would probably just use two or maybe three T hinges at the top, using a water activated linen tape, using two pieces of tape per hinge. This could be what your thinking too, but I'm not sure what ph neutral sticky tape and double width ears are

On some very large and heavy art on paper you could even use additional hinges on the sides and bottom. If there is some excess paper around the image it could also be worth looking at corner pockets on the bottom to help support the weight.

[prospero]

Two hinges handmade Japanese paper if properly stuck should easily support even a heavy sheet such as this. Make sure you tear it to shape so the edges are 'feathered'.
Don't be tempted to beef the hinges up. The hinges should always be weaker than the paper that the art is done on. That way, a catastrophic shock will tear the hinges, and not the painting. Heavyweight wc paper is 'fluffy' and pressure-sensitive tapes don't grip well on it unless you burnish it down well. Which you didn't aught to be doing.

[Nigel Nobody]

Prospero is right. Japanese paper and starch paste is best. The hinges need to be slightly weaker than the art paper so that in the event of the frame dropping, the hinges tear instead of the paper.

Hinges should never be all the way across the top.

[vividP]

Thanks guys - framemaker read my mind despite the unorthodox vocab. Glad I was in the ballpark at least, will investigate paper and starch paste. Does it have to be Japanese?

Cheers
P

[framemaker]

Here is a nice colourful PDF on all sorts of tapes and hinges from masking to museum:

http://www.framersequipment.co.uk/FEL_T ... t_2010.pdf

[Nigel Nobody]

, will investigate paper and starch paste. Does it have to be Japanese?

The paper in question is made from materials that have very long fibres. Kozo is the main one and is sometimes referred to as 'mulberry paper or 'Washi' paper.

Water is applied with a brush, then the paper can be torn along the wet line to produce an edge that is quite soft due to the long fibres pulling apart. Starch paste should be applied, left until the gloss has disappeared, then the hinge applied to the art paper. Only a small amount of the hinge should be pasted on. In most cases, no more than four or five millimetres. Fo really light weight art paper, the Japanese paper hinges should be very light weight and only the fibres pasted on.

More info here on Japanese paper: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_tissue and http://www.worldprintmakers.com/english/jappaper.htm

[Steve Goodall]

As no one has thought to ask this question - what is the value of these pieces???

[Nigel Nobody]

As no one has thought to ask this question - what is the value of these pieces???

Monetary or sentimental or both???

My criteria is simple: If they aren't going to be thrown in the dumpster in a year or maybe two,original art on paper should be hinged with Japanese paper and starch paste! In some circumstances (when the customer is penny pinching) P90 hinges, but they have to listen to the disadvantages and make an informed decision.

[JFeig]

Greg Fremstad used to have a 5 pound bag of flour hanging on a wall of his trade show booth attached with 2 mulberry paper hinges and wheat paste. A very impressive display of the strength of wheat paste and paper hinges.

http://www.frametek.com/HTML/Articles/Hinging.html

[vividP]

Re value - they're not old masters but I imagine they cost into three figures somewhere.

So everyone uses paper/starch hinges? The catalogues are full of P90, PH7-70, 'archival hinging tape', self adhesive hinging tissue, gummed hayaku paper etc. Anyone know of a concise reference to when each is appropriate?

Thanks
P

[Nigel Nobody]

Everyone doesn't use Japenese paper and starch paste. Some framers don't use it at all. There can be many reasons for that. Some don't care, some don't know, some are skeptical, some use both Jap paper and self adhesive tapes and some use nothing else but Jap paper.

I personally don't trust gummed hinges. The pre-applied gum is very thin and it's difficult to ensure a good bond and the bond can fail sometimes.

The labeled description of certain tapes may be the manufacturers interpretation. I do use some P90, myself, with caution. As for being "Archival", I'm not sure about that.

This is a quote from Neschen's website:
"All Neschen filmoplast tapes employ adhesives that are both acid and solvent-free and will not dry out or become brittle with age. It should be noted however that despite our products outstanding aging properties they should not be construed as being a direct replacement for traditional conservation hinges made from wheat paste and rice paper.

When used for hinging artworks filmoplast tapes should only be applied to the artworks blank border areas and not to areas directly behind the image or so called “bleed images”. We recommend as a general rule of practice that you carefully read all manufacturer’s instructions and if in doubt contact the manufacturer or a trained conservator. As a member of the American Institute for Conservation Neschen would be happy to assist you in finding a trained conservator your area."

Note they say 'rice paper'. A lot of framers also think Japanese paper is 'rice' paper, but it isn't really. Just a misnomer.
Note that the manufacture of those tapes admits that Japanese paper and starch paste is better!


There are many other ways to mount art on paper. Hinge mounting is just one. Other methods include:
Corner pockets.
Mounting strips - ph neutral paper or Melinex.
Edge strips.
Edge wrapper.
Sink mat.
Encapsulation.
These methods are completely non-intrusive to the paper, because no adhesive comes into contact with the paper.

PPFA has a book called "PPFA Guidelines Framing Works of Art on Paper", which is a very comprehensive guide that includes all of the methods listed above and much more relevant information. I recommend this book and the "PPFA Guidelines Framing Works of Art on Canvas" would be a great addition to any framers library.