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Wednesday, May 1, 2013

How to Fix a Warped Canvas

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to announce that your warped canvas has a chance at a second life!

The problem all began when I bought large canvases (I'm talking 3 feet by 4 feet and whatnot) and stored them in the garage.

Lesson:

Do not store your large canvases at even the slightest angle in your garage. Because of the temperature and humidity changes it will warp the frame.


You end up with one side of your painting looking like it thinks the wall has cooties.

Example A:


 



From the front it looks fine. Although, with a light coming down on it you get an unsightly shadow.

Example B:


 

Here is a solution that I had to find scouring the art forums:




1. Lay your painting face side down in an area people won't be walking over or tripping on it. (I did it in my garage).

2. Spray all wood with water.

3. Weigh down the corners with random heavy objects in your garage. (For example, I used two loaded picnic baskets, laundry detergent, and a backpack of my husband's with music stuff--and it's surprisingly heavy).



4. Leave overnight or for however much time you see fit.

5. Hang up on the wall and be ecstatic that your $80 canvas is like new!

Disclaimer: it might not be perfectly straight. But if all the corners lay flat I call that a SUCCESS!

Now go fix all your canvases! :)

20 comments:

  1. Thanks. This post saved a canvas I was about to throw out.

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  2. I'm assuming that it doesn't matter that the canvas gets wet?

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    Replies
    1. If a cotton canvas sags, water is frequently used to correct it. Much depends upon the medium used and how it was applied by the artist. When in doubt, you can ask an expert in that medium to see if it's prudent.

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  3. It is fine that the canvas gets wet. I have even saturated the back of paintings with saggy canvas with water. It makes it tight again...

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  4. Photo Canvas Collage prints are the ideal way to display lots of your stunning images without buying masses of bulky picture frames or cluttering up the house. With the use of smartphones and readily available digital cameras, we have become a nation of amateur photographers, using Instagram to capture our favourite moments. Out of this we now have some incredible photographs we are sure to treasure forever; the problem is there are just too many of them, making the task almost impossible when
    choosing images to display in our homes

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  5. what if my canvas is already painted? Will it damage it?

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    Replies
    1. Do not get canvas of oil painting wet. It will destroy the paint. Acrylic is fine though

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  6. Actually my original idea was similiar to yours but i only put two heavy objects on my canvas and next day still it could not work clearly as it went back to an unusual shape again. At least, your concept is letting me think again and i can put 4 heavy objects on the canvas instead of putting two heavy objects on it. By the way ,thanks a lot and hope it would work perfectly :)

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  7. Thank you so very much for scouring the different sites for us. :) Mine is twice as warped as the one you used as your example. The top left corner and the bottom right corner are sticking out 2" from the wall. I painted it for my mom years ago and after she passed away I brought it home with me and put it in storage for a couple months. How wet should I get the wood? Is it okay if some water gets on the canvass? Any ideas how to get the nicotine tar off of them? My dad was a heavy smoker. Thanks again.

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    Replies
    1. If acrylic you can just use a mild solution of dish soap and wash with a soft rags. Getting wet will not hurt it. Start with a small area to make sure before you take on the whole piece.

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    2. If, by chance, the wetting does work, you can take it and have a copy made. If it is an oil painting, you won’t have the depth or physical brush strokes, but the color it’s perfect and it’s very difficult to see the difference between the original and the copy. Acrylic or watercolor are even harder to tell the difference between the original and the copy. I believe the process is called Giclee. That way, if the water on the frame doesn’t work, you can still display the treasure and enjoy it in your home.

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  8. Warping wood frames happen when the canvas is a cheaper quality. I know I buy them all the time. Spraying water on the back of the cotton to shrink the canvas that has been painted is fine, we use this trick all the time to fix a sagging canvas. Framing the canvas sometimes is the only thing that will help these thin cheap version. I have had to put a thin frame on to stop the warping, and was happier with the painting after,

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  9. Some excellent advice here = thank you!
    For warped, bent or twisted stretchers I use C-Clamps on the edge and corner of the kitchen table and really wet the wood.
    Leave clamped and keep wet for at least a couple of hours then let dry naturally while still clamped.
    Also if necessary after that, eyeball where any more bends or twists and just use brute force manipulation to get it as flat and even as you can.

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  10. The best solution is to frame it! The wooden frame's robustness will keep the canvas in place.

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  11. https://youtu.be/beKlEb2piPk

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    Replies
    1. You put 4 flat brackets on each corner on back side but you have to hold each corner down in some time when you are doing it

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