Restoration — Vintage Movie Posters Forum

Beginning Discussion - Following Charlie's Path

CQ_Link — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 18:54:15 +0000

Greetings all,

Bottom line up front: I'm going to try to follow in Charlie's (and others) well documented footsteps. I'm going to attempt to deacidify, bleach and linen (or paper) back a movie poster. If Charlie/ site administrator permit, I'll document my attempt here.

Since some of the links, videos and pictures disappeared throughout the site, I'll try whenever possible to add this level of color into this thread.

First, a bit of background. I'm nearing retirement. I've been both an Army private and officer, store manager, automotive engineer and security executive and I'm just about ready to leave my job at the US Dept. of Homeland Security. I mention this only because I'm in no hurry to rush through the processes and steps many have outlined throughout this site. I plan to take a slow. measured approach to getting where I want to go. Hopefully, along the way, others such as Mark/ Eisenhower and Zen-Master Dario will chime in.

I've had some experience restoring vintage rock handbills and posters from the 60s so not all of this is new to me

In my next post, for anyone caring to follow this adventure, I thought I'd start by identifying my "shopping list" of items I'll need to acquire (or have acquired) in order to get started. I'll also detail the cost of this material and equipment.

I noticed on one of the threads here, someone mentioned it would take around $1000 from start to finish. As of March 22, 2022, after working with Talas, Amazon, eBay and other merchants, I'm finding that number to be very much in the ballpark.

Cheers!

CQ Link

Poster Linen Backing Overkill

HONDO — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 01:53:59 +0000

I am of the opinion that the linen backing of film posters is not always a wise move to do if one intends to sell at a later time. Linen backing of minor film titles in excellent condition, and where numerous poster numbers of the same title in good to fine condition are commonly available in the marketplace on a regular basis is now happening a lot.
I have a good example of where selling a linen backed Australian daybill film poster ended up in the losing of a sizable of money in having done so. Before I reveal the name of the film poster in question I would like to hear what others think. Is linen backing become an overkill in many cases?

Bond - You only live twice (Subway): Where to restore?

finepostervault — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 09:14:25 +0000

At the end of December, I got lucky again and won this wonderful poster for $425 including the buyer’s premium.

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (Gyrocopter, Little Nellie)
1967, Folded, Very Fine -
Subway (44.75" x 59") Style B
Artwork: Frank McCarthy and Robert McGinnis

It last sold at emovieposter in 2022 and 2015. At Heritage, it has appeared somewhat more frequently. Orson & Welles are asking $4,250 for this Poster. :-)

It has a few flaws along the edges, which were clearly visible. However, after the auction photo was taken, the beautiful poster was folded and/or stored incorrectly and developed some nasty creases in the typography. Heritage was willing to take it back without hesitation — of course. But only from my cold, dead hands. We agreed on a reasonable credit that will cover part of the upcoming restoration.

Now I find myself in the developing country of Germany/EU, and there’s no one here, at least no one I know of, whom I would trust with linenbacking.

So my question is: where should I send it? I’ve never done this before.

I wrote to the kind people at Poster Restoration (found them on YouTube), and they replied:

“I would recommend a gentle bleach bath to lighten some of that age toning in the paper, linen back to flatten and stabilize, and from there we can go back in and fill in any losses and tears, and restore color pigment to the creases within the poster. I roughly estimate this to be about $800.”

All in all, shipping, restoration, and VAT on the restoration service would cost me around $1,400. Add my original purchase price of $425 plus the initial shipping and import charges, and you’re easily at $2,000.

Phew…

Is that a fair price? Is it worth it? What do you think? Do you have other recommendations for me?

Would like to hear from you!

1st attempt at linen backing - a good start!

thehammers80 — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 03:46:29 +0000

Hi there, firstly thanks for all the information posted over the years. I spent the last 6 months reading through and have finally made an attempt on a low value poster. I built the frames and managed to source the materials.

I want to also put out a thank you to the Fourth Cone YouTube channel, it was an amazing resource to have to build my confidence. https://www.youtube.com/@FourthConeRestoration

The paper went on to the canvas really smoothly.

The poster I chose was an old insert I bought from one of Bruce's bulk lots, I still quite liked the design though. There was a big black pen mark on the back, but I wasn't looking to get rid of that anyway.

I followed the steps from the forum, combined with the Fourth Cone videos and used the Mylar method for the wet work. Nervously applied it to the paper/canvas and it actually went on really well, no major folds or lumps.

I let it dry and then cut it out. Not bad for a first effort, the only issue was a small section of the border near top left which was slightly raised, I'll hopefully fix that with some more wheat paste when I attempt my next piece.

Thanks again to all the contributors, it took me six months to get the courage up - am going to fix up some more in the coming months. Slowly but surely 😊

Creases on Glossy

lousybutler — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 16:24:00 +0000

I'm trying to figure out a way to make glossy posters like new (e.g. take out ripples, take out corner dings, etc) and I ordered a hand-crank press to take out creases. Is there any way I can get modern glossy posters in Like New cond or is it a fools errand? Are there any techniques I can try with a hand crank press?

It's something like this:

Linen backing resources - Australia

thehammers80 — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 04:36:35 +0000

Hi all, this is such a great place for info on posters etc. I have collected a number of posters over the years, nothing amazing - just personal faves and interests. I now have the time to look at starting to try linen backing some of them to preserve/restore them.

I'm going to build the frames etc. and have looked into tables and other items, but I have great difficulty sourcing the raw materials (canvas, masa, mylar etc.). Everything here seems to be US centric and retailers like Talas don't offer the most realistic shipping prices to dear old Australia.

I was wondering if there were any Aussie based collectors with any suppliers they use?

Appreciate any help.

Restoration pitfalls.

HONDO — Sat, 26 Feb 2022 00:20:03 +0000

Firstly I will admit that I do believe personally that film posters should not be restored and to be left in their original condition, whatever this may be.. If others prefer to restore posters that's fine with me though.

There is one example that I will present here where the restorer overlooked and left off important details and even added new information on to the restored poster that wasn't on the original version.

The original unrestored 1932 U.S.A. three sheet.

The restored version.

This original poster has the artist Wynne W. Davies credit appearing on it. One of a number of Columbia Pictures poster artwork Wynne W. Davies completed during his time in Hollywood in the early 1930s.

No credit at all of the Morgan logo credit to be seen.

The advertising information appears on the bottom left hand side of the poster within a dark brown background.

The Columbia copyright details appear on the bottom right hand side of the poster, again within a dark drown background,

The restored poster is minus the Wynne W. Davis. signature.

The Morgan logo that wasn't on the original poster has been now added,

The advertising information originally printed on the bottom left of the poster now appears on the bottom right hand side of the restored poster, and minus the dark brown background.

The Columbia copyright information details that appeared on the bottom right hand side of the original poster now appear on the restored poster version in an altered version of this information, and again minis being within the dark brown background.

Sorry, but I am a sticker for information being 100% accurate. I am looking forward to any feedback regarding this poster's restoration.

Is there a different cleaning/backing technique for modern 1-sheets?

lousybutler — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 17:33:30 +0000

I was getting an estimate from a local paper restorer for cleaning and backing posters, and he said that he doesn't work on anything that has the glossy overcoat, like anything modern or even semi-modern. I know I've seen linen-backed Pulp Fiction and things like that. Is glossy a different process from vintage items?

Posterfix "Special Glue Agent"

CQ_Link — Wed, 18 May 2022 14:29:03 +0000

Chris on Posterfix mentioned in a "Kill Bill" linenbacking video he uses a "special glue agent" to his wheat paste to reduce airbubbles when mounting a glossy poster.

Any ides what he's referring to?

Linenbacking Attempt #4

CQ_Link — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 14:17:16 +0000

Greetings,

I've been away for a bit due to health issues but for those following, I thought I'd pick up where I left off.

Instead of one long thread describing my linenbacking path, I thought I'd try to share what I've learned by describing my attempts on a poster to poster basis.

For those asking me about washing, deacidifying, bleaching and final rinse, I see Charlie described the steps in another thread. As I've mentioned, most, if not all of the information you need is on this site. You just need to do a little digging to find it.

That said, I just bought another damaged one-sheet I'll restore. I'll try to provide more detail abut the process when I get around to mounting it on the canvas duct (AKA: Linen).

For now, I'll describe what I ran into with Poster #4.

You'll see, at this point, I've not perfected my bleaching technique. As Charlie and Eisenhower mention repeatedly, there really is no substitute for experience. I highly recommend buying some of the $1.00 posters on eBay and jump in.

Anyway, at this point I pretty much figured out how to mount posters without wrinkles or air pockets. For this one, I'm still using the "Mylar Sandwich" technique for cleaning, rinsing, bleaching and final rinse. Upon completion of this process, I flatten the poster on a Mylar sheet, work out the wrinkles and air pockets with a squeegee (brayers don't work well for me) and roll the poster onto the canvas from the Mylar (NOTE: The canvas has Masa or Mulberry and wheat paste already applied).

I usually end up with very small air pockets. To remove the remaining air pockets, I place a clean Mylar sheet on top of the poster and using a squeegee, I push the remaining air pockets and/ or wrinkles out to the sides of the poster.

I completed three or four other posters using this technique until I started running into excess paste issues. Excess paste tended to flow through small rips and tears and onto the poster surface making the excess paste difficult to remove without affecting the ink/ image. I'll describe how I addressed this by modifying my mounting technique in another thread.

For now, the first picture is the "Before" shot. The second picture is the unrestored "After" shot. As mentioned, I did not have the right bleaching technique perfected but I'm well down the road to ensuring posters are mounted flat onto the canvas.

Before:

After:

Filling and Patching Missing/ Torn Paper

CQ_Link — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 11:52:02 +0000

Having backed 12 one sheet posters, I'm now going back to make some repairs. I'd like to fill in/ "patch" some missing corners and other relatively small areas.

I'm working on a mix of Methylcellulose and microcrystalline cellulose. After looking at a few videos online, this mix needs to be diluted and mixed with water at approx. 150(F). I didn't dilute the 50/50 powder mix on my first attempt and came up with a thick, semi clear "glue." I was able to sand this mix down and apply color but the "paste" didn't spread very well. It was "clumpy" and not the smooth paste I've seen other use on some videos.

How are you guys using cellulose powder to fill and what is your "recipe," mix ratio?

Any other techniques or materials used to patch?

Any links to information?

Cheers!

Harper Poster Linenback (Linenbacking Attempt #3 or #4)

CQ_Link — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 16:24:27 +0000

Greetings!

I've not posted in awhile so rather to share progress I'm making with linenbacking in a long thread with numerous pics (I've linenbacked approx. 10 posters since my last post), I thought I'd post progress on a "poster by poster" basis.

I'll start with my 3rd attempt - a one-sheet 1966 Harper ($10 (damaged), eBay).

The highlight here is I was able to lay both the 45-gsm Mulberry AND the poster down on canvas with no wrinkles or creases. I found I wasn't applying enough wheat paste to the canvas/ Mulberry AND, to further eliminate wrinkles, I began spraying both the Mulberry and the poster with distilled water prior to laying the paper and poster down.

Mark and/ or Charlie provided a tip: I place Mulberry (or Masa) or a poster on Mylar sheets prior to mounting them on the linen and I spray them with distilled water on the poster while it's on Mylar. The paper or poster adheres to the Mylar so I can carry the entire sheet of paper or poster to the mounting board and roll it out in a very controlled manner.

After the paper or poster is rolled onto the mounting board surface, I can work out most, if not all, remaining creases and folds.

I've become fairly good at laying down paper so I don't need the Mylar for Masa but I've found it works great for Mulberry and posters.

This poster had four annoying tape stains. The tape, in fact was still on four corners of the poster. I used Bestine to get the tape off but the stains remained. I had to lightly sand those stains to get as much off as I could without wearing out the paper. After I sanded as much as could, the deacidfying and bleaching process did a decent job at removing most of the stains. Since I'm "OK" with an airburush, when I get to patching the hole by Paul Newman's forehead, I'll airbrush out the remaining tape stains.

The opportunity here is ensuring ink stays on the poster while I try to remove the excess wheat paste underneath the poster after it's mounted. I used a squeegee to remove the paste but I removed some of the ink as well. It's hard to tell from the pics but the color is not as vibrant as it was prior to ink being removed. Recently, I've been placing Mylar on top of the poster and using a squeegee to remove the excess paste. This works well to preserve the ink but I'm finding excess paste on TOP of the poster.

I'm trying to develop a technique that addresses this problem. One thing for sure - while the Posterfix guy can use a sponge on a wet poster to remove excess paste, I'm not proficient at how he does this. Attempts by me to use a sponge on a freshly mounted poster resulted in significant ink loss or smearing - especially after bleaching a poster. If anyone has a good approach to remove excess paste from the top of the poster, please advise.

That said, once I patch and sand the hole in Paul Newman's forehead and after I remove the remaining tape stains, the poster and linenbacking will look pretty good.

Here's a pic of where I'm at with it:

Ideas on trays for soaking. cleaning, bleaching posters

Radman1963 — Sun, 15 May 2022 14:26:48 +0000

What are you guys using for trays to immerse posters in? I want to start working on U.S. one-sheets, so I figure I need some kind of tray about 48 x 30-36 inches that is waterproof and chemical resistant. The only thing I can find are containment trays, and they are over $100.00 each.

What do you guys use? If you made them, how did you make them, and of what? If you bought them, where did you buy them, and how much did they cost? Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can give me.

PosterFix.com - My Experience...

Smittymagic — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 21:14:00 +0000

I have been using Sei Petterson for all my poster repairs and Sei is the Best....... I got an email from Chris Cloutier at posterfix.com who was going to give me a good deal on two posters. As it turns out and after digging for the reviews on this guy he is bad news. I sent him a $300.00US magic poster to get mounted and now he wont return my phone calls, emails or posters. He wanted me to cancel the claim with paypal which I am not going to do.....he wants more money to asend the posters back to me instead of using my UPS account and I would pay to have them shipped back. ...Here is the last email I got ..

Brent

I appreciate the business you sent our way with those to posters.

this morning my paypal balance was $about $100 and after yo filed a claim on me my balance is now -$170 or so.

I cant ship anything until i get some funds from either you are someone else. so all bets are off.

If you cacell the claim now, then i can complete shipment tomorrow.

otherwise i cant. also my shop computer is on th frotz- the computer fixer will come to ficx it thursday i am told. i am using a home computer at home right now. Please return the money and cancellthe claim asap.

my responces wll be delayed until i am at the home computer (as far as tomorrow is concerned)

here is the reviews I found but too late ....http://www.topix.com/forum/city/brooklyn-ny/TJ0HSC7ORJROIKDIP

Stay away from this guy.........and posterfix.com

As for Sei Petterson, Im sorry for not using your services and I will continue to use you and only you

Need Advice Pre Framing

bg1057 — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 16:13:00 +0000

Hello! I'm new to the forum and just want to say what a wealth of amazing information and posters. I'm glad I found you all. I'm a poster enthusiast and am looking forward to reading through more discussions on the forum.

I recently picked up a James Bond Dr. No French poster from an auction. It's been linen backed and has had a few tears repaired and is in generally good condition. The problem is I don't know how it was stored previous to my purchase. I am planning on framing it but don't know if I need to deacidify it before? As you know, usually when posters are repaired and linen backed they go through a deacid bath but I can't know for sure if this did. Is there a way of telling? Should I play it on the safe side and get it deacidified again? Will framing be enough?

Thanks for any help!

Best,
Ben

Restoration Feedback - should fold lines still be visible?

quixotic71 — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 19:37:00 +0000

So I recently sent in a couple of posters for restoration and linen backing.
I got them back, and I was admittedly disappointed a bit with the still noticeable fold lines on one of the posters (poster had been folded in quarters).
Perhaps my expectations are unrealistic? Or maybe it's challenging to make it unnoticeable due to the lack of detail in that area?
Any thoughts?
The restorer is highly regarded on this forum and i won't name any names until some folks chime in.
The corners look pretty good unless you look really closely, I am just surprised about the fold lines still being visible.
Outside of that, I think it's a pretty good job.
Sorry the after photo isn't the greatest, so it's less visible than looking at it in hand....

Before

After

Removing a hardboard mounting - Advice please

Musical_Mainline — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 11:38:00 +0000

Hi all.

Has anyone ever had a poster removed from hardboard backing?

I'm looking at a poster which has been unfortunately treated in this way and i'm looking to advice.

Many thanks
Jo

Tips for removing fingerprints?

thomsen — Thu, 23 May 2019 09:57:00 +0000

Hi,

New member here.

I have a few posters with a couple of visible fingerprints on them. Does not appear to be dirt, just ordinary fingerprints from a slightly sweaty hand.

I am certain that a professional restorer could remove these during restoration, but is there any less intrusive way to do this myself? Paper-wise, we are talking both a modern glossy poster, an older poster printed on some more matte paper and a movie program.

The fingerprints are only visible in black areas, like a black background or a photo in the movie program.

I saw someone using something called Absorene for removing surface dirt from a poster. Would that maybe do the trick?

How to poster restoration books

Piercarlo — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 05:30:00 +0000

I have been a vintage poster collector for some time and a couple of times in the past I have tried linen backing and basic restoration with mixed success.
I was wondering if there is any book around on how to restore vintage posters.
Thanks

Resto advice needed

Mark — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 04:11:00 +0000

This daybill was previously framed and had the top border glued down to masonite. Having removed it with some un-du and a blade, I now find the glue is still tacky. The paper is also very brittle and chips easily.
Not super high value, but there aren't many copies around and I would like to preserve it as best I can for the new owner.
Should I use archival tape on the top to reinforce and cover the glue?
I realise backing is the answer, but that's not in my budget.
Thanks in advance.
Mark

Is There Someone Who Will Both Linen Back And Frame Posters ?

Lonely_Hunter — Sat, 07 Jul 2018 11:27:00 +0000

I was looking for someone who would both linen back and frame my posters, then send them back to me with both jobs completed.

Please inform...Thanks !!

Flattening, Steaming, Restoring border damage (creases and wrinkles)?

naomi — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 00:25:00 +0000

I recieved another poster with border damage. It never fails how some sellers so consistently wrongly priortize packaging. It's the rolled poster ends (borders) that need to be priortized and protected. People become so focused on using a strong tube ("a truck can roll over my tubes!" etc, etc) they forget the real work and diligence is properly securing the poster inside the tube from slipping and sliding. You can use a cast steel tube but if not properly protected and cushioned the ends of the merchandise within, the tube matters not.

Has anyone heard of pressing or steaming or somehow "flattening" border crinkles and wrinkles? Wrinkles that haven't lost any color or ink, just wrinkles and creases along one border from top to bottom. I've heard of a "flattening" process over the years but have never confirmed if such a procedure exists or is just myth.

How much restoration would you order?

Eisenhower — Sun, 29 May 2016 19:59:00 +0000

So I acquired this wonderful Daybill a few months ago, linenbacked it and was pondering if I should add a bit of restoration to it or cut it down as is. How would you proceed if it was your poster that you'd had backed?

The poster below has two areas that I'm considering addressing.
1- the last 2 letters in Fonda's name could use some red, and
2- there is a light blue line-from a printers defect I'm guessing-just right of his eye which extends to the edge of the poster.

Please vote accordingly. Thanks for your participation!

Have you had your Gellan?

Dario — Sun, 29 Nov 2015 00:35:00 +0000

Hello folks,

I did some try outs with http://www.modernistpantry.com/gellan-kelcogel-lt100.html

A new cleaning method. You may read more here: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ac/2014/385674/

Overall the effect was not as dramatic as using bleach/submersion. The everyday modern poster collector probably not so excited with results.

This would be more geared for extremely fragile/historical/ irreplaceable paper artifacts.

However,

I do see a potential tweak and use as a type of gel backing.

Cheers,
dario.

Linen backing error?

John — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 23:17:00 +0000

Can you spot the error with this poster? Looks like someone made the wrong call with linen backing ...

Bid for linen backing?

Pancho — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 02:41:00 +0000

Hi guys,

Don't think this counts as outing an auction - saw this online: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/LINENBACK-AND-RESTORE-YOUR-SIX-DAYBILL-MOVIE-POSTERS-/191689502528?hash=item2ca195af40

Interesting idea, but really don't know what to make of it! Potentially 6 daybills backed for under $100?

Anyone seen this done before? Anyone know of the restorer?

Borders on Linen backed posters

John — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 20:44:00 +0000

You occasionally see linen backed posters come up where the linen has been trimmed to the edge of the poster ie no linen border. Just curious as to whether you think this would put you off buying a poster or, if you did buy it, would you want to have it rebacked.