Attaching Canvas to Boards

 

Attaching Canvas to Boards

Thanks for your time.  I am working on a multi-medium piece that will incorporate acrylics, heavy textures and metal that will be drilled and attached. 

I have fabricated canvas frames out of 2 x 4 Douglas fir with a 1/4 “ skin wood front.  I am in need of a solid surface due to the weight of the mediums that I will be applying in addition to the hardware I want to use to mount the metal.  It is my plan to stretch and adhere a cotton canvas over the wood.  My question is....how should I treat the wood to ensure that the acidity of the wood does not damage the canvas.  Do I need to treat both sides of the wood?  I have considered painting the wood with gesso and then using either Gel medium or paste to act as an adhesive before stretching the canvas over the wood and gessoing the canvas.  Do you have any suggestions for applying the canvas to the medium and stretching?  Do you suggest using staples as well as medium?

Any concerns with drilling screws thru the canvas and into the wood?  Thanks, Lisa

Hi Lisa,

You are doing all the right things.  You definitely want to seal the wood so that the acid does not travel into the canvas and thru to the painted surface causing support induced coloration (SIDS).  I wrote an article about that a while back (Nov/Dec 2003).  Gesso won't do the trick to seal the wood as gesso is very porous.  Instead, you can use wood shellac (preferably white shellac) from the hardware store to seal the wood first.  The other option would be to apply a couple of coats of Golden's GAC 100 medium or even Acrylic Matte medium first.  If it is hardboard or a wood product with a smooth surface, before adding any size (shellac or acrylic medium) you should sand it first so that the canvas adheres well to it. 

Once the board is sized use the gel medium to adhere the canvas to the board, then you can go ahead and gesso the canvas.  you do not need to treat the other side of the wood because of SIDS but it would be a good idea to put a coat of size there too to prevent the wood from absorbing excess moisture (which will cause swelling and cracking).  This will also help prevent mold from attaching itself to the back. 

Cut the canvas a couple of inches larger than the board.  To glue the canvas to the board apply a generous amount of the gel medium all over the surface of the board, at least 1/8” thick.  Then lay the canvas on and start smoothing it out from the centre towards the edges.  Use a trowel or flat piece of word or stiff plastic for this.  Some of the gel medium will squeeze off the end of the board, use this to attach the excess canvas to the back and you can reclaim the rest.  There is no need for staples.    

I would do a test with the screws to see if they would rust under the medium.  Just cover some screws with gel medium and check back in a couple few weeks.  You can also buy galvanized screws that have a rust-proof coating. 

Good luck Lisa, it sounds like a fun project.  David