The Journal
The Journal
Notes on materials, technique and shop practice — written for the bench, not the catalog.
Miracle Muck
The wet-mount adhesive: choosing it, wrapping with it, mounting with it, and keeping it good.
Materials
Choosing an adhesive for the frame shop
How framers choose between permanent and reversible adhesives, what a modified PVA does well, and where it does not belong.
4 min read
Technique
Wrapping fabric liners and mats
The full sequence for wrapping fabric onto liners and mats with a wet-mount adhesive: glue line, contact, burnish, plus sheer-fabric prep and the corner cuts.
4 min read
Technique
Mounting canvas to panel, and when to use heat
Wet-mounting canvas and linen to panel, hardboard, foam core and Gatorboard, plus heat reactivation at 140°F, the answer for fabrics too sheer to take a wet adhesive.
4 min read
Shop practice
Storing and handling a PVA adhesive
Why a wet-mount PVA spoils if it freezes, how to check a cold-weather delivery before it reaches a job, and why cleanup happens while the adhesive is still wet.
4 min read
Materials the articles are written about
Adhesives, matboard, liners and glazing, held in stock for framers, galleries and studios.