Paint Now . . . Stretch Later?

[David Clemons]

Originally Posted by Richard Bingham

Well, hey . . . nothing's "perfect", please excuse my over-enthusing. Bets are off with all materials when mis-application or operator error enters the equation...

...or when an experienced professional who knows what he's doing, such as myself, can't get to behave consistently. Sizing the raw canvas and board first will (sometimes) give you a better adhesion, just like joining wood. Since I'm not inclined to skin my own bunnies, I'll just move on to something that works as well or better for this application.

Lesley, most wallpaper glue these days is a premixed vinyl compound which is likely not acid free. You might find some that's made of just wheat paste powder, but it's often not readily available. You can also make a paste with pastry flour, which is lower in protein than bread flours and less appealing to bugs.

[Lesley Grindlay]

I dont know bout the flour thing, would it not eventually rot?

[Lesley Grindlay]

I wonder what Richard Schmid does with his lose paintings, does he perhaps stretch his paintings and if he mounts them on board, what does he use? interesting to know...

[David Clemons]

Originally Posted by Lesley Grindlay

I dont know bout the flour thing, would it not eventually rot?

Not if the flour has a low gluten content, like pastry or cake flour. You need some gluten for adhesion but not much. Dry flour can become rancid in a few months, so that's another reason it's not often stocked for wallpapering. Properly made wheat paste is very archival. Freshly made paste is acidic, but calcium carbonate buffers the acids, and fungicide helps keep the bugs away. Some brands of wheat paste/starch require cooking/boiling before using (food grade,) but there are others that you just have to add water. If it's a heavy-weight canvas, I'd probably use a stronger glue.