I would like to adhere a 30 x 44″ sheet of paper to a 1/4″ sheet of aluminum 31″ x 45″ so that I can achieve a 1/2″ aluminum border around the paper that will have a machine-routed, ‘mirror-finished’ polished edge, similar to a glass beveled edge. I was told by Talas Conservation Materials that Bevo 371 drymount film would be the best canidate for a hot press, given its low temperature adherance rating at 150 degrees farenheit, and therefore not warping the sheet metal in the heat press. I am not certain how to prepare the main body of aluminum underneath the paper …questioning if the metal will oxidize the paper sometime down the road or if it will remain relatively stable in typical gallery/museum envirnoments? I have found nothing negative attibutable to oxidation of aluminum as a rigid mounting surface that might affect the paper. So I am actually seeking best advice on mounting the paper to raw aluminum sheet given the use of the Bevo 371 film by itself. The aluminum is typically what I would purchase from an industrial supplier of 1/4″ sheet aluminum. Can you help?
–Doug
Since posting my last inquiry about adhering paper to an aluminum panel, I’ve done a little homework. My concern was that the exposed edge of the aluminum panel would oxidize and dull from a high reflective gloss finish if left to oxidize without any protection. Initially chromate conversion was recommended as a means to protect the aluminum from oxidized discoloration,… over time. But today I found this company that recommends Cera-kote, a substance sprayed on aluminum that is a super=protective, clear coating, that can withstand heat, is corrosion resistant including any oxidation. It is used to coat gun parts and industrial machined parts and the coating takes up no space. Since I want to Bevo dry-mount my paper to an aluminum panel, my concern is for this protective coating which would be done first. My concern is for off-gasing of the coating but from what I’m being told, this is the way to go. The company that does this process is Dayton Gray in N.J. Anybody with comments? –Doug
Thank you Mr O’Hanlon. I would refer you to https://www.cerakote.com . This is I believe the way to go to protect from oxidation and retain a shiney surface. The website says it all
I have sent your question to a few of our moderators who will likely be able to help.
Hello Doug,
the Beva 371 film could work well for adhering the paper onto the aluminum panel and there seem to be other artists who use the adhesive film for the same purpose successfully. The oxidation process of aluminum is rapid but very self containing and the oxidation layer is very thin. Therefore I would not expect any issues with oxidation. It should be sufficient to slightly scuff and degrease the aluminum surface in preparation. I am not familiar with the amount of pressure excreted in a heat press, which you are planning to use. The Beva 371 film can simply be heat-set with an iron and usually only requires a little hand pressure. It helps to place a cool heavy item on top of the freshly heat set Beva 371 film, to build the adhesion. The tricky part will be to cut the Beva 371 film exactly to the size of the paper, so that you get a clean 1/2″ aluminum border and at the same time good adhesion up the very edge of the paper. It might be advisable to heat-set the Beva 371 film onto the aluminum panel first, to get good adhesion to the board and then align the paper and heat-set that through protective sheeting. You might need to practice the application first to optimize your technique (amount of pressure, heat etc.), as to not have any excess of glue around the edges. The glue is removable with various solvents, but it would be difficult to remove excess glue from the edges without contaminating the top of the paper. In case you are planning to paint with acrylics on top of the paper you could consider coating it first with a clear acrylic medium, so that it would be less sensitive to solvent/glue stains when attempting to remove excess glue.
Untreated aluminum will oxidize and the oxidation will dull the exposed aluminum. The oxidation will not affect the paper so your main concern would be to coat the exposed aluminum with a product that will inhibit oxidation of the surface. There are a number of products that can provide some protection but we have not tested any for their weathering properties.
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