When adhering a painting on linen to an ACM/Dibond panel using BEVA (Solution or film) using a domestic iron, is it possible to sufficiently/successfully activate the BEVA by applying the heat to the back of the aluminium panel rather than the front of the linen/painting – in other words with the linen/painting side face-down rather than up? I ask because I’ve only ever applied the heat to the side of the Panel with the linen, but the reverse is always warm afterwards.
The short answer is “yes” but it would be extremely cumbersome. This is closely related to how paintings conservators line paintings; however, our tables tend to be outfitted with heating elements dispersed throughout the metal table (and of course we often perform linings under a steady vacuum to ensure that no air bubbles/pockets form). You would still need to apply pressure from the front while applying heat from the back….Also if this is a COMPLETED painting you also might want to check just how hot the aluminum support actually gets with a thermometer or heat sensor. You might find yourself cranking up the heat on your iron to a higher level than you normally would in order to penetrate the aluminum support and effectively activate the BEVA on the other side but testing the temperature on the reverse would let you know how successful that would be. We do have some tips about how to go about adhering completed paintings on canvas to aluminum supports in our “Rigid Supports” and “Flexible Supports” document but all in all this is always a risky process to undertake and in general is not recommended (especially if your painting contains wax and/or significant areas of impasto). Let us know if you have any additional questions.
Another reason this practice is discouraged is that as it is it is very easy to crush of flatten any impasto as the surface of the painting will be against a rigid surface. One should only attempt this with paintings that are your own and works that if lost would not jeopardize a contract or show. To minimize the deleterious effects of lining face down you could place a layer of carpet or faux fur down, face up, on a table, cover this with a layer of silicone release Mylar, silicone side up, place the painting face down with the back already coated with BEVA 371, and then place the aluminum panel (prepared with BEVA on the side in contact with the BEVA coated reverse of your painting. You could then carefully heat the panel to finish the mounting. Again, do this at your own risk.
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