A dust cover applied to the back of your frames provides a seal to dust and bugs entering the back of the frame. It also looks better than seeing all the backing board and the backing nails. To finish your job off correctly either seal the edges with backing tape or apply a brown paper backing. This can only be done on wood frames. Metal frames are sealed with a plastic gasket system around the edges.

• Before fitting the hangers and wire to the back of the frame, place your frame face down on your workbench and cut a piece of brown paper about 5cm - 2" larger than the size of the frame.
• Most backing papers have a front and back to the paper!. The shiny side is the front, so the back of the paper has more of a matt finish. Look carefully and you will see the difference. Next, dampen the back of the brown paper with a damp cloth, or a very fine mist of water vapour.



• Leave the paper for a moment while you apply a fine bead of PVA glue all the way around the outer edges of the frame back. Spread that bead out with your finger. You can also use double sided adhesive tape instead of the glue.
• Spread the paper over the back of the frame and smooth it into position and around the edges. Allow the glue and dampened paper to dry. As it dries the paper shrinks to make a tight even backing.
• Trim off the excess paper which overhangs the frame with a spare blade from your mat cutter. or trimming knife. A nice finishing touch is to fit rubber or felt bumpons to the corners of the frame. These prevent movement and protects the wall. Your framing job looks well finished.

• A canvas stretcher frame will normally sit out from the back rebate of the main frame.
• To secure the stretcher frame into the main frame insert a screw eye into the side of the stretcher frame, at the same level as the main frame.
• A normal phillips head wood screw can then be used to secure the stretcher frame to the back of the main frame.
• Seal the gap between the stretcher and main frame with backing tape. The tape is flexible enough to cope with the uneven surfaces.
• Place the hangers that you would use for the wire hanger, onto the back of the main frame and not onto the stretcher frame.

When framing art canvas boards is it professional to finish with a backing of foamcore or MDF?

1. The first method to finish the back would be to stretch brown paper over the back of the frame to seal the back. This prevents any dust from entering the cavity, and hides the back of the canvas board. This is the preferred method as you may wish to keep the back of the artists canvas board in its original state as it may have the name of the artist and the the title of the picture written on the back. So applying a sealing layer of brown paper covers the back without damaging the back of the canvas board

2. You can also fit an extra layer to cover the back in the form of fome core or mdf. The best way would be use fomecore board. This is lightweight, acid free, and can be cut easily at home on your work bench with a sharp utility knife. Secure the fomecore into place with either flexipoints or nails, then seal the edges of the frame backing tape. The back will then have a clean well finished apperance.

When fitting the wire to the back of a heavy or large frame, it is important to distribute the weight of the picture over several hanging points. For medium weight frames consider using e heavy duty hangers which have more than one screw hole. That will distribute the stress over a wider area..ie over two screw holes rather than just one point. If the frame is very heavy then add hanging points to the bottom of the frame as well. The wire is attached to the side hangers as well as the bottom of the frame. There is an illustrated How To Note showinh you the correct way to attach the hangers onto the back of heavy frames. Read more....

The hanging point on the wall must also be considered. Do not rely on one hanging point for heavy pictures. If the wall is brick, cement, or other hard material, then a concrete wall hook should be fitted. If the wall is a cavity structure such as plaster, cement or wood sheeting, then place TWO hangers on the wall so that the wire of the picture runs through both hangers.

The FrameCo Glass cutter has a Tungston Carbide cutting wheel which cuts glass perfectly every time!!!...But it's not just the wheel...the cutter is mounted onto a handle which keeps the wheel vertical to the glass surface at all times and also maintains an even pressure on the surface....its all these factors combined that ensures "perfect cuts everytime" ...even if you have never cut glass before.

When measuring in inches please note...There is about a 1/8" space between the edge of the cutting head and the wheel. When using it for cutting down glass for your frame, this space is the amount you would allow for to give the room needed to easily slip the glass into the frame. When measuring, just use the actual size of the image that you began with, ie 8" x 10". You can also make a mark with a felt marker, then place your ruler edge on the mark and run the glass cutter over the glass. When you snap off the excess, the mark will be on the discarded piece. Another useful thing to know is if you need to cut off a small amount of glass, 1/4" for example, follow the same procedure but hold the small edge with the tip of needle nose pliers. It will snap apart just as cleanly.
If you are cutting an exact 8" x 10" piece, just add 1/8".

When measuring in cm please note....There is 3mm space between the edge of the cutting head and the wheel. So you must allow for the 3mm ...either add 3mm or subtract 3mm to your measurement depending upon the side of the glass you measure from.