The Framers Forum

It was suggested to me on another thread that it was best to seal the glass, artwork, mountboard and backing board with tape before setting into the frame to prevent tiny bugs getting inside.

What tape do you think is the best to use?

I would assume that a clear tape would be better so that you will not see it in the rebate but any suggestions would be most welcome.

Many thanks in advance.

Martyn.

P-90 is good. With a bit of practice you can run a strip about 1/8" along the glass. This way it shouldn't show outside the sight edge. You can trim it down, but it sticks like the proverbial to glass, so best to get the right width first go.

Foil tape like this is great, but not cheap. However, it's wider than you need for most jobs so strips can be sliced in half lengthways - then it goes twice as far.

P90 for me too as it is fairly thin and so will fold around the glass, mount, backing board sandwich fairly easily. It is also archival quality.

Don't forget to charge for this service though. A local framer to me (now out of business) was charging £8 to seal with sellotape!

John.

John,
P90 has a pressure sensitive adhesive and can't be considered 'archival' quality. The manufacturers can call their products anything they like, but if you get opinions from paper conservators, they will tell you that the adhesive is not necessarily, easily reversible. If it's not easily reversible, then it's not 'archival' or 'preservation' quality.

Having said that, there are a lot of framers around the world who use this product. It's certainly a better product than masking tape, gaffer tape, etc, etc.

The tape that John/Roboframer suggested is the best for this purpose as it's aluminium base is acid and gas impermeable if it's done properly. It's also excellent for covering stretcher bars to protect the canvas from acid migration from the wood. It's also available in a wider roll - about three inches!

For day to day framing, I just couldn't be bothered with this process!

Ormond. What you say is perfectly valid, but why should you ever need to reverse it? It's stuck to the glass and it's stuck to the backboard. You don't need to be gentle to remove it. In fact you can run a blade down the edge and reseal with another layer on top. We aren't talking contact with artwork here.
The only possible persevation issue with the tape is offgassing. Doesn't ally tape offgas as much as P-90? Have you ever heard of a case where artwork has been effected by fumes from tape? .
In any case, any possible adverse effects from the tape are far outweighed by the damage caused by the creepiecrawlies. They can leave nasty spots on a watercolour and they always seem do it on the sky. Never in the grass.

I don't think reversibilty is the issue - just definitions - who can define 'archival' anyway?

No-one - there is no technical definition.

prospero wrote:Ormond. What you say is perfectly valid, but why should you ever need to reverse it?

John stated that it was 'archival' and I just wanted to point out that it should not be regarded as an 'archival/preservation' product!

In the event of a broken glass it could require removal and would be simple to remove. Removal isn't the issue when used in this way, but it is if it's used for hinging. I use it myself for hinging where customers are unwilling to pay for Jap paper hinges!

Aluminium tape is recommended for frame sealing, stretcher bar sealing and can be used for sealing the rear of a frame package in preference to many other tapes, where used for that purpose, due to its impermeable nature.

I use the Linco aluminium barrier tape too. It has a peel off release paper, so it's easy to lay flat on a cutting board and to slice along it's length with a suitable blade or knife and a straight edge.

When you consider what you are getting, it's not that expensive. I use it for waterproof framing, in conjunction with Conservatek backing board which also has an aluminium barrier on one side. I use two layers of Conservatek as I want to tape my aluminium barrier tape directly to the aluminium barrier side of the board.

I then add the second board behind the first, but the other way around so that the brown side shows at the back. This means that I can fire my framing points into the frame without risking damage to the barrier tape. I then finish off by tapping the back with Lion's K kraft tape (Kikisui).

The finished result is totally waterproof. I charge accordingly for what is a specialist service and it's a significant amount more than the £8 mentioned earlier in this thread.

If you use a lot of foil tape, you may find this interesting.

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I take your point(s) about using the term "archival".

What I was trying to say was that P90 is probably one of the best materials to use when making a "sealed unit". In every single example of this technique I have come across when reframing work done elsewhere sellotape or masking tape has been used.

John.

Thank you for the information, I think I will order some P90 and see how I get on.