The Framers Forum

I had a customer bring in two of these delft style tiles in these frames. The frames got damaged so she wants to replace them.

The tiles seem glued to strips of foamcore which seems glued into the frame.

Hesitant to prise it out with a screwdriver in case I break the tiles. Wondered if lighter fluid might dissolve the glue enough but no success so far. Maybe lighting it and letting the frame burn off would work...

Any ideas?

Can't you just cut the foamcore out of the frames,the foamcore can then be stripped back off the back of the tiles and replace with new foamcore if needed

That was my first thought but can't get anything in under the foamcore to cut it...

Could you run a blade down the centre of the foamcore and start pulling it away from there?

Just thinking ahead to when you make new frames for the tiles, I can't see why they shouldn't be framed as normal i.e. tile, back board, rigid points and tape? I wouldn't be gluing new foamboard back in place.

Hope you get them out oK

I've this sort thing before and I suspect that they may be produced like this to sell to the tourists. The foamboard is probably stuck to the tile with silicone adhesive and then the foamboard is also stuck into the frame again with silicone. trying to cut through the silicone adhesive is a real struggle and I can understand the trouble this must be causing.

I see that there is only one wedge in each corner, I think that I would saw off most of each corner with a saw and ease the frame apart one side at a time. I also assume that a little damage around the edges of the foamboard may prove to be unavoidable. If you choose the new frame moulding to have enough depth to accommodate another backing board to hide the damage to the edges of the foamboard, the job should be a good one!

BTW, some of these tiles tend to be made from plaster and not clay, so treat them as potentially easy to damage.