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Advice needed, not happy with current work from a London based linenbacker

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  • edited August 2016
    I agree! But it certainly doesn't sound like the restorer has followed through with his clients original requests. I would be worried if his original quote, did not include completed work that was first requested, additional costs may follow. Hopefully not. 


    Unless I've agreed to pay the additional costs, how can he/she possibly expect me to pay more?

    If they've contacted me and said, oh looks a lot worse in person, will be another x dollars - and I agree to this, then original quoted price it is. 

    I don't think I have ever had any restorer, even the bad ones, do this...My how the world of restoration seems to have changed!

  • Good luck Adrian.  Hopefully it won't be too painful for you to get them back.

  • Good on you Adrian, let us know when you get them back.
  • And here's Graham's reply, i'm a bit confused by the term 'buffering'? Does this relate to the lining of the masa paper? Notice how i asked yet again regarding the deacidification bath and yet again it's not addressed [or does 'buffering' refer to it?]

    "Dear Adrian

    Yes your posters were buffered before being lined and we have finished the retouching so they are ready to collect.
    We will be happy for you to view, collect and pay for the work we have done. 
    Clearly you are not happy with this studio and prefer the US linen backer, that is fine but from my experience of 40 years of poster restoration I have had many posters that have been spray painted. 

    Graham"
  • edited August 2016
    I think there are two methods to deacidfy the poster. Not the masa or linen as they should be acid free

    1 ) complete immersion ie bath
    2) spray on

    They provide a buffer from acids
    If he is avoiding to answer if it was bathed, i would suggest he used a deacidfication spray to buffer the poster (not the masa or linen)But i do speculate. Ask.him face to face how the poster was deacidfied

    Good luck, nearly there! 




  • edited August 2016
    Re "many poster that have been spray painted"

    Fair point regarding poster Conservation. Most restorers airbrush with arcyrlic paint..why..because its easier to work with and will hold long term. Technically a no no in paper conservation.

    This comes down to personal choice. I prefer less.  I dont mind if i can see border tears whilst others will demand the entire borders to be airbrushed but if its acrylic paint and high chance it is then its pretty much non reversible. Ask charlie how one might have to remove it! Scrapping! 
  • Thanks for the info Sven, found this online featuring Mr Bignell;

    http://www.fiskenposter.com/restoration.aspx

    To gain a step-by-step idea as to the work involved in a straightforward poster linen-backing, Graham Bignell has provided the following explanation:

    1. Surface cleaning,
    2. Removal of any sellotape, masking tape or any annotations, likely to “bleed” in the wet process,
    3. Testing colours for solubility,
    4. Washing the poster & buffering to raise the PH level,
    5. Pasting out linen support with wheat starch paste,
    6. Laying down acid free paper support,
    7. Pasting poster,
    8. Laying down poster onto paper & linen support & smoothing to remove any air bubbles,
    9. Pressing & drying,
    10. Re-touching & filling-in any paper loss.


  • Cheers Adrian 
  • A number of comments coming through via Facebook:

    Another disappointed poster collector and another poster restorer who fails to live up to promises, or charges. Pass it on.

    I'm beginning to regret doing this but i thought i would give a local London based linenbacker a try instead of shipping to the US.
    VINTAGEMOVIEPOSTERSFORUM.COM
    LikeShow more reactions
    CommentShare
    Comments
    Betsy Geary Proctor
    Betsy Geary Proctor Please give these guys a try!www.originalvintagemivieposters.com we are in Texas but work all over the world!
    David Rew
    David Rew url doesn't work
    Betsy Geary Proctor
    Betsy Geary Proctor This is Harry, Betsy's husband! We operate the website we sent to you and have been in the linen backing business for the past 6 years. If you have future projects please feel free to send photos to my email which is proctorhm@gmail.com. I'm prefer to communicate through emails rather than FB. We charge $225 for French 1p posters. I can try and answer your technical questions that way.
    David Rew
    Write a reply...

    John A Davis
    John A. Davis Poster Mountain in Los Angeles is by far the best in the world.www.postermountain.blogspot.com
    POSTERMOUNTAIN.BLOGSPOT.COM|BY POSTER MOUNTAIN
    Like Â· Reply Â· 2 Â· August 16 at 11:54pm
    John A Davis
    John A. Davis We also have an agent in London at Antikbar and you can simply go through them and save tons on shipping!
    Kirill Kalinin
    Kirill Kalinin http://www.antikbar.co.uk/poster_restoration/
    AntikBar has teamed up with Poster Mountain, the world's premier vintage poster and fine art conservation and restoration studio, to offer linen backing and restoration services.
    ANTIKBAR.CO.UK
    Unlike Â· Reply Â· 2 Â· Yesterday at 12:41am
    Richard Barclay
    Richard Barclay Really sorry to hear about your experience. Unfortunately I'm not surprised, I have been a British Vintage poster dealer for over 30 years, now based on France and despite constant searching I have never found a competent one. Many expensive and incomp...See More
    Unlike Â· Reply Â· 1 Â· Yesterday at 1:11am
    Rob Minhas
    Rob Minhas http://www.vintagemovieart.ca/
    Poster restoration and linen backing expert Dario Casadei has been restoring vintage posters for over 15…
    VINTAGEMOVIEART.CA
    Unlike Â· Reply Â· 1 Â· 19 hrs
  • Ok an update, i phoned Graham and asked him directly if the posters had been in the deacidification bath and he told me they had....why didn't he just say that when i asked him on those emails? To get him to answer that question was like getting blood out of a stone!

    I collected the posters last night and yes a huge improvement from the last visit to his studio, when previously no touch up work was done on the LW&C and the Bardot still needed a lot of work.

    So in summary, the work was good, the customer service poor, the price extortionate ...i'm pretty sure he rolled me for more money when he send me those low-res photos! So would i use him again, no, i'd like a stress free experience thanks! I'd rather stick with a US linenbacker at least they keep you updated and provide high resolution photos.

    Photos coming soon!


  • edited August 2016
    Glad to hear they are back safely, shame the restorer has little respect for quality customer service.

    edit: I just noticed that this post has been shared 127 times (see count under first post in this thread) which is a staggering number of people who are poster collectors or similar have now read this thread (it would be in the thousands).
  • Here are the photos, not the best camera and the flash is a bit unforgiving.






















  • I only have eyes for Brigitte...in any condition
  • Oh excellent.  Glad that you got them back...lesson learned...Enjoy them now.
  • They look pretty nice. My advice is to completely forget about it now. I guess you overpaid, but that is water under the bridge. Just think about the great posters you now have!

    But please DON'T forget to use someone else next time!




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  • Glad you have them back. Very nice.

    Most of us experience these things, I guess it is like the poster collecting flu....  I could write a book about London restorers.....uhm....thats a thought... =)
  • Thanks everyone for the feedback, and yes i'll be using the US linenbackers/restorers in the future, too much stress otherwise, they came out nice considering they did need some work. 
  • They do not look all that bad everything considered.  But I agree with everyone else - now that you have them back and at least partially restored/conserved enjoy them!
  • Hi Arthur, if they are in mint condition why do you want to get them backed?
    I would only do this for posters that have condition issues, else display them as they are.
    When/if you do sell, you will get far more interest if you leave them alone.
    My two cents, and welcome to the forum.
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