The Framers Forum

I have bought a few lengths of the canvas box from arqadia.
My understanding is that the stretched canvas sits inside this box. Should the frame be a certain distance away from the canvas, or is it just a case of seeing what looks best?
Also is it just fixed from the back with screws, or is there another method?
And finally, I got unfinished ones that will be finished with paint from the customer to match in with furniture, do you cut and join first and then paint whole frame, or paint individual lengths and cut as normal?
Thanks for any help...

What looks best. You can either do it a snug fit or leave a space. In the second case, it looks better if you paint the inside of the moulding black.

Screws are fine in my book.

As for finishing, I would join first. Saves any retouching of the corners.

Cheers Prospero
Would you paint the inside black rather than the same colour as the rest of the frame?

If the outside colour is lightish - yes. It creates a 'bottomless pit' effect and looks neater.

Paint the light colour first - don't worry about going over to the inside. You can overlap slightly. Then mask the edge and black the inside. Easier painting dark over light than the other way round. And you won't get any unpainted gaps.

Here's my effort, thanks for the replies.