Framing Matters
by Chris A. Paschke, CPF GCF
IEA E-Newsletter October 2009
"Speaking of Silicone"
Last month I discussed the use of silicone release papers to protect the
surface of your encaustic works. Just this past week I was tasked to remove an
encaustic original on 8-ply rag board that had been mounted to a linen wrapped
foam center board and fitting into a short base float frame (photo 1). I will cover the difference between short
base and long base float frames in an upcoming column.
The art had been mounted to the linen with clear silicone adhesive, which
held it very well, however silicone is known to seep oils over time and it is
never supposed to be used in conjunction with any original art…including encaustics. In order to remove of the art from the linen
the back layer of rag paper had to be torn from the board (photo 2). Even though tearing any layer of the 8-ply rag
is not advised practice, in this case the removal of the silicone from the back
of the art by removing that silicone saturated layer will most likely save it
from future damage.
Solvents and Such
There are many types of adhesive solvent on the market, and all are
caustic to touch and breathe. Acetone is
a familiar solvent, as well as naphtha, xylene, and toluene, all of which are
available at Home Depot. Commercial low
odor formula OOPS! is an affordable blend of the above that dissolves many
household irritants. OOPS! was the
solvent of choice for this project.
Just as it did with the art, the silicone held the linen backing to the
frame very well, but all framing should be removable for future care of any
original art. When the glued backing was
torn from the frame without any solvent the silicone tears leaving large chunks
of backing board stuck to the frame (photo 3).
By saturating the dried silicone with solvent the silicone is softened
and easier to remove from the inner base of the frame (photo 4). After a five to ten minutes a fairly blunt
bamboo scraper was used to get under the globs of adhesive and scrape it off
the frame (photo 5).
Frame Salvage
It took a few more coats of solvent to best clean the frame for
reuse. The removal of the adhered art
and backing had stressed the corner joints of the frame so it required
reinforcement and additional touch
up to make it once again artist ready.
After all frame repairs were completed a new 15-1/2" x
15-1/2" platform of 1/2" birch
was fitted to this 16x16" frame using screws and eyes from the back. It is now ready for a new completed encaustic
work on 8-ply rag board or 1/4" Baltic birch panel to be glued using
Titebond Wood Glue to the surface of the float frame platform (photo 6).
So why is it acceptable to use wood glue in framing and not
silicone? Silicone is a very aggressive
adhesive it is not well suited to use in framing. It outgases which can contaminate and leave a
haze on the inside of the glass of a sealed frame package and its petroleum
based oils will seep out over time saturating whatever is in contact with…including
paper, board and wood. All in all, not a
good adhesive around art.
Moral of the Story
This encaustic masterpiece lived to tell many more tales over the years
in a newly created sink mount frame—a future column here too—and the remaining
frame has been fitted for a new project.
All original and valuable art should be framed so it may be removed at a
later date if necessary. Make certain your custom framer understands what
encaustic art is all about and stress that you do not want it glued into
the frame. Custom framers are learning
how to handle encaustics right along with you, and I am doing my best to teach
them as fast as I can. As always…I'm
here to help.
END
Chris Paschke
Designs Ink
Tehachapi, CA 93561
P 661-821-2188
chris@designsinkart.com
http://www.designsinkart.com
http://www.designsinkart.com/float-frames.htm
