Mouldings
We use only the finest quality wooden mouldings from leading U.K. suppliers. No light-weight polymer mouldings here!
Our moulding suppliers take a great deal of care to ensure that the more exotic timbers are only sourced from EU approved and properly locally licensed overseas suppliers.
Glazing
Before we go any further, it is worth introducing you to an expression currently bandied about in the glazing industry namely "WaterWhite". All Glass, from one end of the range to the other has a degree of "colour". Basic picture framing glass has a "greenish" tinge, due to iron in the glass. At the top end of the scale it is almost colourless, or "water white". The clearer the glass the better it is, and more expensive. Why is it so expensive?... because, in order to produce colourless glass, you have to alter the chemical recipe and remove impurities. The process of removing impurities requires Extreme Heat for several hours longer than normal. What fuels this process? - Electricity and/or Gas, which, as anyone knows who has paid their heating utility bill recently, costs an increasingly huge amount of money. Once you have your "WaterWhite" base and start adding optical coatings and UV filters then the costs soar through the roof. Have you been to the opticians recently? They want upwards of £30 to coat your lenses with a similar anti-reflective / UV coating so, size for size, it makes top-end picture framing glass a bargain!
Our 2mm clear premium float glass, manufactured in Europe, is the finest basic glass available and used as our standard for "general" picture framing work. As good as it is, it will still have a greenish colouration and it will slightly alter the appearance of colours in a picture or mount card. We also stock a product called "WaterWhite" float. It is about twice the price of normal float glass but offers very good clarity and colour rendition without the addition of very much more expensive coatings and UV filters.
Just as a note of interest, "Float" glass is so called because just after leaving the furnace during manufacture, the liquid glass is poured onto bath of molten tin. A sheet of glass is then formed on the tin by flotation. In the "good old days" glass used to be rolled. If you find an original Victorian period frame, or window, look across it, you will probably see all sorts of ridges, lumps, bumps and imperfections. Part of the "character" it may be, but thankfully we have moved on. Although, sometimes it is essential to keep the original glass when restoring an old work.
Speciality glazing, such as Schott Mirogard AR and UV is always in stock for Conservation or Museum grade pieces that require glazing with zero-colour, optically enhancing, anti-reflect coatings, UV filtering and highest clarity. True-View is also stocked as a slightly more cost effective alternative.
®Artshield Acrylic 3mm. Scratch resistant, available with UV protection, Diffused reflection finish or just clear. It is light weight for large pictures over one metre square, Scratch resistant and shatter-proof. Ideal for public places, schools etc or where there may be a heightened risk from injury and a need to comply with HSE requirements. It is slightly more expensive than glass and also beware of cheap alternatives.
Mountcard
As a basic standard, the mount board we use has a high pH. and is high quality White-Core board. Buffered against harmful acid, it has good bleed resistance and is reasonably light-fast. Do this simple check - Have a close look at your pictures, have the cut edges of the window mount turned an unattractive shade of brown? - this will be cheap or old, acid laden mount board. It will react with light and make a permanent brown fog line around your picture in quite a short time. ( Our Acid-neutral mount card is manufactured from sustainable EU forests grown specifically for pulping, it doesn't contain post-consumer waste). Acid-Free Cotton card (museum standard) is made from virgin cotton fibres and has never contained acid.
Why should I care about acid?
because it degrades and damages your picture in various ways. Most obvious are cheap mounts with "sepia coloured" cut edges. These will make brown lines around your picture edges, where the mount board has been touching it. Another sign is brown marks showing through the picture from acid laden tape sticking the picture to the mount. Yes, some "cowboy" framers actually stick art work to the back of the window mount, some even use masking tape! But, unfortunately, you can't tell from the outside until one day your picture slips in its mount or you notice unsightly brown stains showing through your picture.
Conservation work requires that we use a F.A.T.G. certified conservation board which meets a minimum specification for acid levels (pH) and light-fastness (Blue Wool Scale). There is a very good range of colours from the major manufacturers and all parts of the boards (Face paper, core and backing ) are "conservation" grade.
Museum quality work requires that we use board made from virgin cotton fibres, which is free from any waste materials.
* The pH scale is a scale for measuring the acidity or alkalinity of materials, pH 6.5 - 7.5 is middle of the range and is considered acid-neutral. Less than pH 6.5 is acidic more than 7.5 is alkaline. A Blue Wool Scale grade of at least 3 will ensure an acceptable degree of fade resistance.
The Fine Art Trade Guild, in conjunction with market leaders in mount board manufacturing, clearly define standards for the level of acidity allowed in mount board. Commonly, mount board is made from wood pulp, wood pulp contains lignin. Lignin, is a naturally occurring component of plant life that helps provide strength in plants. Its presence in paper will, in time, contribute to chemical degradation of the paper. In all but cheap mount board and paper it may be removed, or buffered with calcium carbonate in order to render the board "acid-neutral".
We always use guaranteed "Conservation" grade board for conservation work and "Museum" grade for museum work. Sounds obvious I know, but some so-called "Acid Free" (what they mean is "acid-neutral") boards don't totally comply with "Conservation" standards because not all parts of the board comply. The core and backing may be acid free, but not the face paper. The Light-fastness of the face papers may not be up to scratch either.
It has to be said that the only true "Acid Free" mount board is one that never contained acid in the first place, made from virgin cotton fibres. We use 100% cotton boards and papers as a matter of course for all museum and high-end conservation work.
Internal Mounts
any mounting materials we use for mounting your artwork are always "conservation" grade. Unless dry-mounting is appropriate or required, artwork is always hinge mounted to an internal "under mount" (not taped to the window mount) with hinges made from conservation grade paper tape with water reversible adhesive. This method allows the art work to expand and contract naturally without buckling. The window mount is then hinged to the under mount on the longest side.
Backing
Most of our pictures, except some stretched canvases, are backed with a fine, smooth board with a corrugated inner, a moisture resistant back and a conservation grade white barrier layer - guaranteed pH neutral for 300+ years, Light in weight and rigid.
Fittings
For hanging, always 1-screw or 2-screw brass D-rings, screwed into the wooden moulding, not fixed to the backing material. Supported with plastic coated stainless steel wire and nickel plated ferrules, 27Kg or 50Kg breaking strain, depending on picture size. Plastic coated stainless steel is our "standard" picture wire because it looks neat, it won't prick your fingers with loose ends, it doesn't rot or stretch like nylon cord and it won't go rusty if you live by the sea ( some brass-plated wire can lose it's plating where it contacts the hook or wall fitting and then rust through in a salty atmosphere )
Heavy-duty hangers and chain are used in appropriate strengths for larger frames.
Finishing
As a standard, we always use gummed brown paper tape to seal the back of pictures. This allows the picture to "breathe". Sealing the back of the picture keeps dust, most airborne pollution and insects out. Self-adhesive tapes are not considered suitable and anyone using Masking Tape should be shot, several times. Self-adhesives, especially masking tape, have been known to fail quickly, some quicker than others, most are loaded with acid too.
Soft, domed frame "bumpers" are always applied to the bottom corners of a frame. These allow air to circulate around the frame, they cut down on marks on the wall and allow the frame to "grip" and remain hanging straight.
