MATERIALS - How to Mount Canvas to a Panel
(5 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)
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Description - Demonstration of how to mount canvas to a panel.
What follows is a very simple process for making your own painting panels. You can buy canvas on rolls, sketch on it, crop it to size, and then mount on a panel for framing. In small sizes, it’s much easier than stretching the canvas, and it gives you the opportunity to shift the composition slightly before cropping the painting to the final size. This process works best in small sizes, under 16 x 20 inches. Over that size, spray adhesive isn’t very easy to use, and the hardboard might warp.
What we have is a completely dry painting on unstretched canvas, and a 1/4″ masonite (tempered hardboard) panel cut to size. I get my very nice brother to cut these on a laser, but you can do it yourself on a table saw. If you are tool impaired, the hardware store will likely cut panels to size for you, but they will act like it’s the end of the world, and their sizes are not very precise.
I knew what size my panel was, so when I set up the painting I masked off an area just slightly larger so I would be able to shift the composition slightly later. The first step is to trim the canvas to a manageble size. Make sure cut lines are nice and straight, and parallel to the edges of the painting. This will make lining it up easier.
I’m using Krylon spray adhesive. It’s very easy to use, stinks like heck, and is acid-free and doesn’t bleed through. Ive covered a surface with newspaper.
Clean the back of the panel. Holding the can upright and about 8 inches away from the smoothest side, the spray is applied in smooth parallel strokes, top to bottom - letting off the nozzle after each horizontal stroke. So, I’m not going in a zig zag or s-pattern - I’m spraying in even, parallel strokes. That keeps the adhesive from piling up on the edges. But make sure the eges are evenly coated - look at it in raking (sideways) light to ensure a good even coat.
HINT: Spray the panel first, then set it aside (sticky side up) and CHANGE THE PAPER.
The process is repeated for the canvas, and each are allowed to get tacky for about 60 seconds. After you spray the canvas - CHANGE THE PAPER AGAIN. I put a white piece down (so I remember where I am in the process) and place the painting face down. This is fresh paper - that way there’s no possibility that there’s adhesive on it. THIS IS IMPORTANT.
Here’s the tricky part. The glue is tacky on both side, so you want to try to make sure you get the panel onto the canvas without rotating it or going off the sides. Lay one edge of the panel onto the canvas, held up at a 45 degree angle, so only the very edge is touching. You can scootch it to the right position if you missed. Once you’re satisfied it’s pretty close, lay it gently down. Don’t press yet.
Now pick up the whole thing, and check again that it’s in the right position. You can press the edge to see the imprint of the panel beneath the canvas. If it’s not in the right place, change it fast. You have about 3 minutes of play time with this stuff. I told you it works best with small canvas.
I like to use a credit card, but a pastry roller, brayer, or j-roller will work very well. Flip the panel right side up and cover it with clean white paper. No adhesive - make sure! (Actually you can skip that part if there’s no painting on there yet.) Then, working from the center out, roll with a roller or scrape with the credit card. This removes any air from between the canvas and the panel. You’ll be able to hear small bubbles moving around.
Now let the whole thing dry for about 3 hours, and then trim with a razor or exacto blade.
Voila! Nice clean edges, good adhesion and very economical price.
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I have never tried mounting canvas on a panel, but this step-by-step tutorial is very thorough and I may try it. I like the fact that you can paint on the canvas and then make small compositional adjustments by shifting the canvas around before mounting it.
Great job and thanks.
Great instructions! I was able to mount several with nice results. Question though - have you ever had one to peel up on the edge? I am currently painting on one (Claussen DP 13) that is peeling up on the vertical (long sides) edges. Should I wait until the painting is finished and dry, then glue the edges back down?
Hey ya;
love the blog; coolsville. Question: what about watercolor paper? Does this mount to board in the same way? Thanks!
CP
Wonderful step by step instructions. I have so many unstretched canvas paintings and I had no clue of how I was to make them presentable. This gives me a few ideas and I will be trying this out. Thank you so much!
Hi,
Do you think it would also work for a larger painting and if so, do you have any suggestions about the best way to go about laying down the painting on the board?
I have a 30×24 on stretcher bars I want to crop to 28×22 and mount on a board or gatorfoam.
I have read about using acrylic medium, but the permanence of it scares me a bit.
Thanks very much!
Hi There - I really don’t know. I’m dubous about using this method for paintings that large - if it were me I’d seek a professional canvas maker for advice. SOrry I couldn’t be more help!
Hi,
I was having the hardest time trying to work out how to mount or frame my boyfriend’s birthday present (6 paintings so would have been way expensive) and this tutorial was awesome! The pictures help and I am so glad I found it…now fantastic present without breaking the bank.
Thanks!
B
sweet!
Hi Everyone,
Don’t forget, there are numerous professional friendly custom framers , who can help you with the mounting and framing of your canvas art.
Thanks
Ed
I would add one thing to think about. If you’re going to frame the work, you may want to leave a 1/4″ or slightly less margin around the painting. This will keep the frame from covering too much of the the edges of the work when you’ve taken a lot of the image to the edges.
This is great. I am doing some etchings onto painted canvas and this will be ideal for mounting them. I would love to have a professional framer do everything for me but it is so expensive (sorry guys!) so I do what I can to keep the costs down somewhere along the line. Thank you.
This seems like a great solution, but I am guessing that the process is not reversible, meaning you cannot remove the linen later. Is this the case? Do you know of other methods that are reversible?
Can you tell me how you hang this?
I love to paint on board and love the idea of painting on unsized canvas to be able to change the composition a little. I haven’t mounted canvas on a board yet because of concerns about what glues to use. I was wondering if you know if the spray is archival…. will it last for years or will conditions (heat and cold) eventually cause it to start to peal back? I know the old way to do it was with rabbit glue and a friend mentioned someone at the Smithsonian recommended Elmer’s glue.