Home › Forums › The Learning Center › Studio Tips and Framing › Correcting a Warped Canvas?
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September 14, 2001 at 4:51 pm #982901
I recently finished a painting on a Fredix canvas, and now I realize that it’s just a little bit warped. Would a good frame correct it, or would it be a mistake? It’s a pretty painting IMHO, and I hate to dismiss the whole thing.
September 18, 2001 at 6:06 pm #999004Paintbrush74,
I know exactly what you are going through. I have some older 30″ x 40″ Fredrix canvases that have “twisted” or do not lay flat. I have tried running wire diagonally from top to bottom and from side to side then tighten the wire in the middle by twisting it around a small dowel rod or nail. I have also nailed a 1×2 piece of wood in the back through the middle or sides to help give it added support. These seemed to help marginally. It seems that once it twists, it is difficult to get it to go back flat. I would also be very interested in any one elses ideas on this subject.
Good luck
MicheleSeptember 19, 2001 at 6:49 pm #999001Try inserting and tapping in the little ‘keys’ that come attatched to the back of your prestretched canvas. They should square your paintings up nicley. If you’ve lost them you can always purchase a bag of them at the art store. They’re really cheap. The ones that come with your canvas are plastic but the ones i buy in the bags (I stretch my own canvas and need them) are made of wood. Turn your canvas over and look at the inside corners. See the little slots where the corners meet? That’s what they are for. Just tap them in with a hammer. Make sure to do the lower leveled ones first. Hope that helps.
CherylSeptember 21, 2001 at 2:55 pm #998999If the wood and/or canvas is warped, one way to fix it is to flip it upside down, paint side down on a towel or something to protect your artwork…then get a spray bottle of water and spray the back of the canvas and wood. (since its usually moisture that caused the warp, you will use moisture to reshape it.) If the wood stretcher bars are warped then you will need to find something very heavy to put evenly on top of the four canvas bars…this forces the damp wood flat. Leave it that way until it drys and you should be fine. If the bars are straight and its just the canvas you can use the suggestion above or if that doesn’t work, just wetting the back and then letting it dry causes the canvas to tighten and get rid of that “sag”.
I’ve tryed both and surprisingly it worked.
September 21, 2001 at 8:06 pm #999002yep, i’ve kept a spray bottle in my studio for a long time. If the canvas has a divot or isn’t quite as tight as you like it the water really does tighten it up. I’m getting pretty good at doing a nice taught canvas though!
CherylSeptember 21, 2001 at 9:41 pm #999003August 20, 2004 at 5:06 pm #999005Hey!
I have some bigger Fredrix canvases that are twisted. I had noticed the plastic wedges on the back, but didn’t know how to use them. I’m not sure I know how even now since it’s still twisted. I thought I was following the instuctions listed above, but maybe I misunderstood.
I’d rather not use the moisturizing technique, although it makes much more sense to me, if the problem is indeed warped wood.
More feedback would really be helpful!
Thanks
August 20, 2004 at 9:06 pm #999000If the canvas is warped ( not flat ) , then spraying water or other tightening methods like keying it out will only make it worse — whats warping it is the tension is too high fer the corners to handle .
If its racked –ie not square, then thats a different story …With light stretchers a heavy-ish frame will hold it down flat just
fine . If they are heavy duty stretchers you will have to prolly re-stretch the thing, although braces might do the trick .If you can cut triangles of thin plywood you can screw them to the corners of the stretcher and that will most probably resolve your problem –dont glue them though, in case the canvas loosens later on and you have to key it out .
The trouble with warped canvases is that sometimes after you flatten them ( with a heavy frame or with triangle stiffenners ) is that sometimes the canvas gets baggy and loose in the corners that were pushed back down . Then ya gotta re-stretch it anyhow …
colin
September 8, 2007 at 6:47 pm #999006I have a large warped canvas i am working on as a comission from a patron. If it were for me there would never have been a problem, of course…
this is an acrylic painting on a 30 inch x 40 inch Master’s Touch canvas from Hobby Lobby, and it has started to form a mobious shape. I was wondering if it would not be better to remove the staples from two sides and try to line up the straight grain of the canvas with the sides of the wooden frame. I usually work on more unconventional surfaces, so i had no idea what to look for in a canvas.
1. how do i get this thing straightened out? i don’t see any plastic or wooden wedges anywhere on the corners, but i do know how to cut triangles and reinforce canvas stage flats from stagecraft and set making
2. what should i use next time?
Thanks
Bhaskardancer
The M.A.D. House Artists -
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