sealing a frame

[larrypac]

I am a professional house builder and woodworker and an amateur framer. I make custom wood frames finished with natural oils and I would like some advice on whether to seal the rabbet to prevent any possibility of acid getting into the mat (acid neutralized matboard) or the artwork. I am not framing especially valuable pieces but they are of value to the owners. And please don't hijack this into a "hire a professional" rant. Should this be sealed with shellac or is the Watco oil adequate?
Larry

[Merlin]

I am sure that some of the Hand Finish guys and gals on here will come up with something to help you.

In the meantime LION do a Rebate Tape- Foam Item Number 4793 . Page 71 in Catalogue 44.

Is that the type of thing you are looking for.

[framemaker]

If you want to seal the rebate to prevent some transfer of oils etc in the timber, then you could use Lineco's sealing tape, it is a foil tape with blue backing that can isolate the rebate from the glass, mount, undermount, and back. If you also then seal this 'sandwich' with P90 or some similar tape then that should be a good barrier from any oil/acid migration from the timber.

[prospero]

I always tape round the glass/mount/backing to make a sandwich. The main reason I do this is to keep the litlle corn flies out, but it does have other advantages. Typically, I do this before making the frame.

If you have used an oil finish on the frame and actually oiled the rebate area, you are right to be concerned. If the mount is in contact with the frame it might tend to 'drink' the oil out of the frame which could reach the artwork. I found this out one day when I put a mount on an oiled beechwood display easel. Later on I found that the oil in the wood had migrated about 3" up the mount.

[larrypac]

Thanks for all three responses. I have not oiled inside the rebate though I think that all of the volatiles would evaporate. Still better not to find out the hard way. However the tape idea sounds excellent.
Larry

[The Jolly Good Framer #1]

Small highjack!

The main reason I do this is to keep the litlle corn flies out,

We call them thunder flies round here (or some people call ‘em thrips). Very small flies that climb into poorly sealed up picture frames, present them selves under the glass and then… die. That is a sad tale of an insect that wants to be art. If only they had taken to the stage.

[prospero]

I call them all sorts of names. What a lot of people don't realise is, they don't invade frames from the back. They go in the front. They wriggle in between the rebate and the glass. So no matter how well you barricade the back, it will not keep them out. If the glass/whatever/back is sealed together in a a sandwich, they have two choices: go over the tape and expire harmlessly somewhere ontside the sandwich, or try and wriggle under the tape and get stuck. They not only look unsightly inside a frame but can cause serious damge to a watercolour. Some years you don't see many, but occaisionally you get a plague and that's when they are a major PITA.

Why do they do it? Gawd knows. I mean what do they expect to see. The Sydney Opera House perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Herds of wildebeest roaming majestically across..........etc.

[The Jolly Good Framer #1]

Why do they do it?

Only FSM knows.

I do the sealing up thing if the customer requests it, but I do charge extra for doing it.
It’s Thunder Fly central round here. One day during the summer last year the thunder Flies were so bad we could not sit in the garden. It was like a locust swarm on a biblical scale. There was not a picture frame safe in the house.

[larrypac]

[quote="prospero"]I always tape round the glass/mount/backing to make a sandwich. The main reason I do this is to keep the litlle corn flies out, but it does have other advantages. Typically, I do this before making the frame.

What types of tape are appropriate for taping around the sandwich besides the elsewhere mentioned P90

[Roboframer]

What types of tape are appropriate for taping around the sandwich besides the elsewhere mentioned P90

This one -

If you want to seal the rebate to prevent some transfer of oils etc in the timber, then you could use Lineco's sealing tape, it is a foil tape with blue backing that can isolate the rebate from the glass, mount, undermount, and back. If you also then seal this 'sandwich' with P90 or some similar tape then that should be a good barrier from any oil/acid migration from the timber.

- just use the lineco tape for the 'sandwich' instead of P90 and leave out the rebate sealing tape altogether.

It's the artwork you want to protect - not the frame!

[Moglet]

Do Lion carry the Lineco tape?

[Roboframer]

Do Lion carry the Lineco tape?

YUP!!

PEL do something similar for a few quid less but I didn't tell ya - OK!

[Moglet]

Ta m8! Will be ordering from Lion this week, so will add a roll to the shopping list.

[The Jolly Good Framer #1]

I use 1” brown gummed tape. It’s a bit fiddly but when its stuck, its stuck forever. If you feel you need a conservation alternative you could use 25mm gummed conservation hinging tape. But for the few times that I do it I cant see the point of conservation as most of it is next to the wooden frame.

By the way the 1” gummed tape will stick to the glass and is very cheep, less than £1 for 200m. Also don’t feel tempted to use Sellotape or masking tape (or I will come round and put a bat up your night dress).

[genguskarn]

Hi
Anyone got the Lion ref No. for the Lineco tape metioned in an earlier post.

Gengus

[The Jolly Good Framer #1]

YUP!!

PEL do something similar for a few quid less but I didn't tell ya - OK!

Click on the YUP! bit above