The Framers Forum

I have stretched a canvas for a customer and he is wanting it to be mounted and glazed and framed the way you would a normal picture.
The difficulty is fixing the canvas to float in the middle of everything.
Is it possible, e.g. cutting a square out of backing board and fixing it to this?
I have said that I wasn't sure it could be done but that I would check with some experts

I have done this before using a deep rebate frame and holding the canvas in place with foam board strips.

Not a preferred method but occasionally the customer just won't listen.

Bit of a hybrid design, but the customer is always right. More satisfactory than framing a watercolour without mount or glass anyway. People have asked me to do that.

JFGLs way is as good as any. One thing though..... If it's a real oil painting, a single mount doesn't really give enough spacing. Especially if painted thickly. And the mount must be isolated from the surface of the painting or there is a risk of oil migrating into the card.

It's a printed canvas so no problem with a single mount.
I'll use foamboards to fix it in place. What's the best way to secure the canvas to the foamboard?

You don't need to fix it with anything, it sits in the 'sink' and the backing board(s) hold it.

The stretched canvas sits further back than the frame, so i won't get a backing board over it in the normal way

Now it gets complicated. You would need to extend the rebate so you can get a back on. You could sit a board on the top and use offsets or spring clips. Bit of a lash-up method though.....

Or mount the canvas to a board instead of stretching.

I'd give the customer 3 options

Hinge it or have it stuck down to a board that takes less rebate space so it can be done 'normally'
Choose a frame with a rebate that will take it plus the boards and glass.
Have a box fitted to the back/extend the rebate.

He's already picked the frame so I think we'll got for a box added to the back to extend the rebate.
Thanks everyone for your help.

Sorry but I'm a bit confused here, if you knew you were going to stretch the canvas, why let the customer choose a shallow frame that would cause problems

Canvas was stretched before the customer decided they wanted a frame as it looked too plain.
Then they chose the frame, which to be fair is pretty deep, but they wanted it glazed and mounted so it isn't big enough for all that.
If I get a request like that I usually say, here's how I would do it, but if you are keen on that way I will ask some others and get back to you.
In this instance it looks like I'll be able to finish the frame exactly the way they want it, so everyone is happy.

One way when the customer wants the mounted look on a canvas is to use a wide panel with the frame. Then you don't have to glaze the panel part, which makes it a whole lot lighter. A tiny liner will serve as a spacer under the glass.
You would have to paint the panel and spacer though.