Portrait on Pastel

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DEEPJOY
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Portrait on Pastel

Post by DEEPJOY »

Never done a pastel before and as a result I've proper messed up.

Customer chose the frame moulding, I never checked the rebate and went ahead and built the frame.
Oh was I on a roll, cut the glass, backing board, double mount hindged all ready for the 'T' tape hanging of the portrait. And then thought, this isn't how this goes together, in actual fact how does it go together?

The pastel came rolled in a tube, so not the flattest. Also, dust, dust and more dust.

I have read previous postings from you guys, but have to admit I don't know how to stick the pastel down. I was hoping the 'T' hinge method would work, along with the double mount holding the the edges of the portrait down / flat. But then there is a gap to think about to loose the dust in.

Guidance, help please.
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Re: Portrait on Pastel

Post by Rainbow »

What about using V-strips to hold the artwork flat, and creating a slight gap by fixing some mountboard (or foamboard) to the undermount?
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DEEPJOY
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Re: Portrait on Pastel

Post by DEEPJOY »

V strips?
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Re: Portrait on Pastel

Post by Rainbow »

Secol V-mount strips. They were recommended to me soon after I joined this forum and I've found them invaluable for certain jobs.

https://www.lionpic.co.uk/product/Secol ... 650,0.aspx
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Re: Portrait on Pastel

Post by kuduframes »

I would start by using the platform mount method to secure the pastel, no sticking down required.
The window mount of the platform would then form the spacer, or part of the spacer to develop a pastel trap, you may need more than 1 mount thickness to give an adequate gap.
The front window mount with it's aperture cut slightly smaller than the platform window mount would sit on top and
attach double sided tape to the area between the window mounts to catch any pastel drop out.
If this comes across a bit vague I'll put a sketch together to illustrate the principle.

If the pastel was on a flat board then it's simply a matter of introducing a spacer behind the window mount and the pastel to allow an exposed sticky tape area for catching drop out.
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Re: Portrait on Pastel

Post by prospero »

There are lots of ways to engineer a 'dust trap' into a pastel mount. They all work up to a point but there will always
be a few particles that get into the front to spoil the job. And IMHO a gap can often detract from the design.

I always give give pastels a good shake before framing. Hold over a white surface and flap it to and fro quite vigorously. When
bits stop coming off it's ready for framing. This sounds a bit drastic, but I take the view that if some particles are loose they may
as well fall off before mounting than when in the frame. I makes no difference to the overall look.

Remember, it's not your problem. Pastels by their very nature will shed particles. While you may try to mitigate the problem you
are not a magician. :lol:
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Re: Portrait on Pastel

Post by Steve N »

A lot of the time the dust comes off the pastel when you are putting back on the frame, ie, firing staples/brads/nails in, the shockwave from the gun firing will dislodge the partials. What I tend to do is a dry run, before you put the picture in the mount, put the mount and backing in the frame, then fire in some ready made bendy tabs to fix, then bend the tabs up, take the back and mount out, fit the picture in the mount, put it in the frame, add backing bend the tabs back down, check for dust, seal with tape, add hangers, job done :clap: :sweating:
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Re: Portrait on Pastel

Post by Not your average framer »

There are devices that will slowly squeeze frames points, or pins into place to fix the backing board in place, without creating any stock to dislodge pastel particles. I can't tell you what they are called,but I'm guessing that someone will know.

Another point that has not been mentioned is the fact that the pastel has been supplied rolled and in a tube and if I had to deal with a job like this. I would be thinking about how to flatten the artwork before framing, as I think that this would remove at least some of the difficulty that comes with an already potentially difficult job.
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Re: Portrait on Pastel

Post by Ed209 »

kuduframes wrote:I would start by using the platform mount method to secure the pastel, no sticking down required.
The window mount of the platform would then form the spacer, or part of the spacer to develop a pastel trap, you may need more than 1 mount thickness to give an adequate gap.
The front window mount with it's aperture cut slightly smaller than the platform window mount would sit on top and
attach double sided tape to the area between the window mounts to catch any pastel drop out.
If this comes across a bit vague I'll put a sketch together to illustrate the principle.

If the pastel was on a flat board then it's simply a matter of introducing a spacer behind the window mount and the pastel to allow an exposed sticky tape area for catching drop out.

Well I’m up for the sketch on this [emoji3]


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kuduframes
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Re: Portrait on Pastel

Post by kuduframes »

Hi Paul

Not sure if this will work or not, made a crude sketch in Excel, attached
Excel doesn't do bevel mounts so these mounts are square.....
Attachments
pastel trap.xls
(43.5 KiB) Downloaded 145 times
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Re: Portrait on Pastel

Post by Ed209 »

Thanks for taking the time to do that, fully understand now [emoji3]


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