Stretching a Rolled Canvas, from the VanArtHub custom framing guides

Canvas, Stretching & Care · The process

Stretching a Rolled Canvas

What to do when a painting arrives in a tube, and why you should not unroll it in a cold room.

A painting that arrives rolled in a tube should be left sealed until it reaches room temperature, then unrolled flat and allowed to relax before anything else happens. VanArtHub stretches rolled canvases at 1242 Davie Street in Vancouver. The single most common way these paintings get damaged is being unrolled straight out of a cold delivery van, because cold paint is brittle and cracks along the direction of the roll.

Why paintings ship rolled

A stretched canvas is a rigid object the size of the painting, and shipping one is expensive and risky. Rolled in a tube it becomes small, light and much harder to damage in transit. Most artists selling across a distance ship this way, and it is a sound decision. The painting simply arrives as an unfinished job.

It is rolled with the painted surface facing outward. That feels wrong the first time you see it, but it is correct: rolling paint inward compresses the paint layer against itself and that is what causes flaking. Rolled outward, the paint layer is put into slight tension instead, which it tolerates far better.

The first hour

  1. Leave the tube closed. Let it sit in the room it will be opened in, for at least a few hours. Longer if it arrived on a cold day.
  2. Open it and slide the canvas out, do not pull. Support the roll as it comes.
  3. Unroll onto a clean flat surface, painted side up. Never onto a carpet or anything with grit.
  4. Weight the edges gently and leave it. Clean books on the unpainted margin, never on the image. It will relax over a day or two.
  5. Do not iron it, and do not put anything warm on it. Heat softens paint and the surface will take an impression of whatever it touches.

Check the margins before anything else

Look at the unpainted border around the image. That margin is what gets wrapped around the bars and takes the staples, so it decides whether the piece can be stretched conventionally. Four to five centimetres on all four sides is comfortable. Under two and a half is tight. If the canvas has been trimmed close to the image, stop and bring it in as it is, because the options narrow quickly and every one of them depends on not cutting anything further.

Also check whether the margins are square to the image. They frequently are not, and that decides where the piece has to sit on the bars.

What it costs you to wait

Nothing. A rolled canvas is stable while it is rolled, as long as it is stored flat rather than standing on one end, somewhere dry and not next to a radiator. There is no urgency to stretch it the week it arrives. There is real risk in rushing it in a cold room.

Related

See how a canvas is stretched for what happens next, stretcher bars explained for choosing the depth, and canvas stretching in Vancouver to bring it in.

1. Leave it sealed until it is at room temperature 2. Unroll flat painted side out, weights at the edges 3. Then stretch onto bars cut to the piece
A painting shipped in a tube is rolled with the painted surface facing outward, so the paint layer is stretched rather than compressed. Let the tube reach room temperature before opening it, because cold paint is brittle and unrolling it is what causes the fine cracking that shows up later along the direction of the roll.

Common questions

My painting arrived rolled in a tube. What do I do first?

Nothing, for a few hours. Leave the tube sealed in the room where it will be opened until it reaches room temperature. Cold paint is brittle, and unrolling a cold canvas is the most common way these paintings get damaged, showing up as fine cracking along the direction of the roll.

Why is the painting rolled with the paint facing outward?

Because rolling paint inward compresses the paint layer against itself, which causes flaking. Rolled outward the paint layer is put into slight tension instead, which it tolerates far better. It looks wrong the first time and it is correct.

How do I flatten a rolled canvas?

Unroll it painted side up onto a clean flat surface, weight the unpainted margins gently with something like clean books, and leave it for a day or two. Never weight the image itself, and never apply heat, because warmth softens paint and the surface takes an impression of whatever touches it.

Can I iron a rolled canvas flat?

No. Heat softens the paint layer and anything pressed against it leaves a permanent texture. Time and gentle weight on the margins do the job without risk.

How much margin does the canvas need for stretching?

Four to five centimetres of unpainted border on all four sides is comfortable, because that is what wraps the bars and takes the staples. Under about two and a half is tight. If it has been trimmed close to the image, bring it in as it is rather than cutting anything further.

Is it urgent to stretch a rolled canvas quickly?

No. A rolled canvas is stable while it is rolled, provided it is stored flat rather than standing on one end, somewhere dry and away from a radiator. There is no benefit in rushing and there is real risk in unrolling it in a cold room.

The margins are not square to the image. Does that matter?

It is very common and it does matter, because it decides where the piece has to sit on the bars. It is worked out before any staple goes in, which is one reason the measuring stage takes longer than people expect.

Do you stretch rolled canvases bought from other artists?

Yes. It does not need to be a piece bought from us. Bring it to 1242 Davie Street in Vancouver, ideally still rolled, and we will check the margins with you before quoting anything.

More in canvas and stretching

Framed in-house

Not sure this applies to your piece?

Send the measurements, what it is painted on, and a photograph. We frame original work in-house and we will tell you what it actually needs.

Ask about framing All framing guides