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Pastel substrate-Dibond, Alumalite

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Good afternoon,
I am a pastel artist who is searching for a lightweight aluminum substrate to mount pastel paper that can be used in the studio or in the plein air environment. The papers that I am considering to bind to the substrate is Sennelier LaCarte (This surface is created with finely ground (pH neutral) natural cork applied to a 170 lb. (pH neutral) board similar to cardstock) as well as UART paper product (sandpaper material mounted on 4ply or 8ply Conservation Board).
There seems to be many aluminum products available yet looking at your document “Rigid Supports” I have a few questions regarding your selections. The doc states to use a product that has a plastic core yet most are available from 2-5 mm in thickness. A product by the trade name Alumalite has a fluted plastic core and available in 3/8″ and 1/4″ thickness. Since I paint out of doors the thicker gauge material seems optimal to avoid bending corners and edges of the surface in the outdoor environment. Is the fluted core acceptable? What is the minimum thickness appropriate to avoid warping? A local distributor stated that Dibond and Alumalite are pre-painted with a white aluminum finish yet your document states to avoid anything that does not have a polyester coil coating. The coating that you are referring to is it a high quality pre-painted finish onto the metal prior to fabrication-heat cured/cooled and rewound for shipment? If both substrates are acceptable do you recommend cleaning the panel with 99% isopropyl alcohol prior to applying an adhesive or what cleaning product is preferred? Also what adhesive(s) are considered appropriate to bond the aforementioned pastel surfaces to the aluminum substrate (BEVA 371 adhesive film/other)?
Thank you,
Maria

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ALUMALITE is a brand of aluminum composite material (ACM) with a corrugated plastic core rather than a solid plastic core found in other brands of ACM, such as DIBOND. This material makes an excellent and rigid support for mounting paper or canvas. The aluminum veneers of ALUMALITE is coated with a polyester coating that is also durable and we found to provide good adhesion using BEVA 371 film, BEVA paste and other adhesives. We believe that BEVA 371 film would be the most suitable for adhering paper, but other products, such as Rublev Colours Mounting Adhesive, which is a pH buffered VAE adhesive also suitable for that purpose.

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Thanks George.
I do agree about everything here but do worry slightly about the use of BEVA 371 (at least as relates to solvent born BEVA 371) for the adherence of paper. Not because of some incompatibility, but because of its ability to suffuse through the substrate and effecting the absorbance of the surface and possible increased saturation of the paper. Certainly, this can be done properly, but it would be relatively easy to “mess it up.” It is my understanding that the thin version of BEVA 371 film is far better for adhering paper to a substrate than solvent born BEVA 371.

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