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Backing Layers and more on Masa

Ok so if you are in this thread you will need to know what makes up a backing....

Bottom Layer - linen (not linen anymore - although if you like to spend money, you can actually buy it) but today backers use raw cotton unprimed canvas.  The heavier the better, I use 12 oz canvas based on the recommendation of a well known restorer.  You can actually tell the difference when you hold a backing done in a lighter weight canvas, it will be rigid versus soft.  Once a backing job with cheap canvas is rolled it will want to stay that way and will be stubborn.  My 12 oz jobs do take some shape but come easily unrolled and laid flat.

Middle Layer - Japanese Masa paper, Acid Neutral, 100% Sulphite.  Here is a description from Talas: 

Machine made in Japan of 100% sulphite, neutral pH, and lightly sized. This paper is very versatile and reasonably priced. A strong paper with an even formation. Smooth on one smooth side and lightly textured on the other. Ideal for backing large artworks and also used for block printing and drawing. 

One thing that you will not know until it is in your hands, is that there is a front and back.  The front being textured and the back being almost shiny.

Top Layer - The Poster of course...

I'll talk more on Japanese tissues and potential uses of those in another post.

Comments

  • So the shiny side gets glued to the canvas?
  • The secret to placing masa is to make the masa damp before putting on the wheat paste and then use a wet cloth as you smooth it out on the canvas... Then I roll all the air bubbles out.
  • Thanks for the info, I kept wondering if they used primed or unprimed. 
  • Do you guys get the masa perfectly smooth on the canvas before mounting the poster? I can't seem to get it smooth no matter what I do, there are always wrinkles and air pockets. Once I mount the poster, I use a squeegee to smooth it out over a Mylar sheet which works well. I'm just wondering if it's just me or do you guys actually get the masa perfectly smooth before mounting the poster.
  • I very rarely have any creases or bumps under which the poster would sit.  But around the edges as you work it smooth there always tend to be a crease or two of around an inch or so...  But air pockets, no.  I also would rather re-sit the masa than put a poster on a crease.  I've had a couple on incidents where a crease ended up in the border but you can usually burnish those out...
  • Yeah, they usually burnish out pretty well. I guess I just assumed it would lay flat pretty easily. I'm finding mounting is the hardest part. Much harder than wet work, that's just babysitting. But a bad mount destroys all your hard work. Then again, I've been experimenting with french 1 panels. So it's not like I'm doing myself any favors.
  • Still learning. Worked pretty much most of the day but realized my previous mistakes in laying the masa. You need to make sure it's got a good amount of paste, not enough and the paper curls up on you, thus causing wrinkles and air pockets.
  • Do you pre wet the masa before applying the wheat paste?  If you put the wheat paste on dry masa, the masa will wik up the water from the paste and give you fits...
  • i do now, with a wet sponge but I learned the hard way. Wasted some masa too. I didn't now what to expect at first, but I quickly learned it's much easier to work with wet paper instead of dry or moist. You're right, it did give me fits and was pretty discouraging. But that masa is pretty durable. Thank god for that. Now I make sure the duck has a good and evenly distributed amount of paste, then wet the masa and get a good amount of paste on that. When I throw it on, I can smooth it out with my (gloved) hands then finish it off with a brayer.
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