Glazing & Conservation at the VanArtHub gallery in Vancouver

Glazing & conservation

The part of framing that decides how long the painting lasts

Glass, acrylic, mats, and backing. The part of framing that decides whether a painting still looks right in thirty years. This is the hub our own framing standards come from.

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Nobody ever regrets the glazing they paid for

This is the hub that matters most and the one people skip. Frame style is a matter of taste and you can change your mind about it later. Glazing and backing are not: they decide whether the colour is still there in thirty years, and the damage they prevent is the kind that does not reverse.

It is also where the money is most often saved in the wrong place. A beautiful hand-finished moulding around a sheet of ordinary glass and a piece of cardboard is a painting that fades from the front and stains from the back.

UV blocked Light reflected Standard clear glass 45% UV blocked 8% reflected Cheapest. Fine for a poster.UV / conservation clear 99% UV blocked 8% reflected The default for anything original.Anti-reflective (no UV) 45% UV blocked under 1% reflected Clear view; pigment unprotected.Museum grade 99% UV blocked under 1% reflected What we use on works on paper.
Four categories of glazing compared on the two properties that differ between them. UV blocking is what preserves the pigment. Reflection is what decides whether you can see the painting at all in a bright room. Figures are the published ranges for each category, not a measurement of one product.

Every guide in this hub

Glazing & Conservation

Protecting art

Materials

By medium

Our craft

Common questions

Questions about glazing and conservation

Is UV glazing worth the extra?

On anything on paper, yes, every time. It is the single cheapest thing you can do to keep a work looking the way it does now. On an oil on canvas that is not going behind glass at all, the question does not arise.

Does UV glazing stop fading completely?

No. It stops most of the ultraviolet, which is the most damaging part, but visible light also fades pigment slowly. Glazing buys you a lot of time; it does not make a wall opposite a south-facing window a good idea.

Glass or acrylic?

Glass for most pieces hanging at home. Acrylic when the piece is large, when it is going somewhere a knock is likely, or when it has to be shipped, because acrylic is far lighter and does not shatter. It scratches more easily and builds static, so it is wrong for pastel and charcoal.

Why does my old frame have a brown line around the edge of the picture?

That is acid burn from the mat or the backing board. Ordinary card contains lignin, which turns acidic as it ages and stains whatever it touches. It cannot be reversed, only stopped, and stopping it means reframing with acid-free materials.

What is the difference between museum glass and conservation glass?

Both block roughly the same amount of UV light. Museum glass adds an anti-reflective coating, so it removes the glare that conservation glass still shows under a lamp or opposite a window. The UV protection is identical; the reflection is what you pay the difference for. See museum glass vs conservation glass.

Does an oil painting on canvas need glazing at all?

Usually not. Oil and acrylic on stretched canvas are protected by varnish, not glass, so they hang bare or in a floater frame. Glazing is for works on paper, where the surface has no protective layer of its own. See do oil paintings need glass.

What is acid-free backing actually made from?

Alpha-cellulose board with the lignin removed, or a buffered board with an alkaline reserve added to neutralise acid before it forms. Either sits behind the artwork instead of ordinary cardboard, which is the material that causes the brown staining line in the first place. See acid-free mats and backing.

How often should glazing be checked on an older frame?

Around every twenty years, or sooner if the piece has spent time in a bright or humid room. Open it, look for fogging or a yellow cast on the inside of the glass, and check the backing board while it is open. See our conservation framing standards.

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