I am creating a slate-veneer panel for oil painters using flexible slate veneer and aluminum composite material. Here are three photos:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1k1Q9hXYUjTgjybDCTfTHfX-XmYQik_XK
The back of the slate veneer almost certainly has acidic adhesive to adhere a thin felt backing. (It’s building material.) So, is it necessary to seal the back of the veneer with something like GAC 100 before adhering it to the substrate, or does adhering it seal it enough? I used Golden Soft Gel to adhere the slate to the ACM, and it worked very well. On the sample in the photos, I sealed the back of the veneer with two coats of GAC-100 before adhering it, but I’d like to skip that step, if the panel would still be satisfactory.
Thanks, Amanda Teicher, Seattle
Oh, I see. That does make sense. Thank you very much, Brian!
Amanda Teicher
The issue with acidic adhesives is that they can attack the organic components used in easel painting (eg cellulose in fabric). This is not the issue in the panels you are describing, so I would not worry about the acidity.
I would want to make sure that the existing layer would not be a source of delamination overtime. Is the adhesive is both strong enough to hold the veneer and that it has good aging properties assuring that the adhesion will last over time? The reason I say this is that even if you coat it with an acrylic dispersion, if the existing adhesive layer fails, there could be delamination at that site anyway. In a laminate structure, each layer needs to have the proper adhesive and cohesive properties. It is sort of like the weakest link in a chain analogy.