My Digest for Linen-Backing Posters: Part I - Getting Started
- John Leschak
- Jun 3
- 9 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Let me start off by saying that I am a Custom Picture Framer, but that doesn't define what I do. In the end, I am whatever I want to be and I am many things. Since I retired early, I got a 2000 sq ft warehouse and each day I wake up and say "What would I enjoy doing today?". About 6 months ago, I thought that I would like to learn how to professionally linen-back and paper-back (or line) posters and other documents. I also coupled this with techniques for paper conservation and restoration which play into this nicely. Additionally, I have a well tooled woodworking shop so like to make things as well which comes in handy for some of the work here (like the canvas frames and washing tray). Finally, I am not an expert (yet) and still learning the various aspects of linen and paper backing so...feedback welcome, we can learn together!
I do try to do things related to framing, art and pop-culture in part so that I do not dilute the SecondMoonshot brand, but also because a large amount of the supplies are things that are already in use in the Custom Picture Framing space.
The first 3 or 4 months was mostly doing research. You can watch a growing number of YouTube videos that these linen-backing companies publish almost daily, but there are no details which can really help you get started. And when you see them wetting or even submerging paper with water...you cringe, thinking that this surely is a bad idea.
After large amounts of googling, I came across VintageMoviePostersForum.com. While most of the content is talking about the posters themselves, there is a large amount of content in the Restoration section. Actually too much content, it takes an extensive amount of time to weed through it all and I am still working through it.
This is why I decided to do this Blog post. I needed a single place where I could put the final details of how I am going to proceed and keep it updated as I find new and improved ways over time and from my experience and testing. You see, while the VintageMoviePostersForum is a plethora of information, lets just say that it is a bunch of tiny nuggets, that rarely presents the whole picture on any subtopic...think random thoughts. So I thought maybe I could help with that.
Additionally, in some of my paper conservation and restoration work I have been slowly doing over the last year, I have come across some techniques in the Comic Book conservation space which focuses on cleaning and whitening processes and Sherif Afifi's YouTube videos which emphasizes Japanese techniques for paper-backing other other process which flow into linen-backing. I want to emphasize the there are MANY alternatives to the various processes and recipes, I found ones which I felt comfortable with the various areas and will likely try others over time.
It might be good to just give a short abstract of what we are doing here. We will be using wheat paste to adhere Masa paper to canvas, then we will deacidify, clean and (optionally) bleach the poster, and finally adhere the poster to the Masa paper again using wheat paste. Sounds easy!
Lets start off with some of the most important links I regularly refer back to get information:
Supplies and Tooling Up
When I start undertaking an effort like this, I will build a list of what I will need to purchase to be tooled and supplied up. I undoubtably over purchase, so will only focus on the things that I actually needed and used. Keep in mind, not much of this is cheap...in fact, nothing on TalasOnline.com is cheap. When buying Masa and Mylar, keep in mind the max poster size you will be linen-backing, you will want to add at least 4 inches in additional width to ensure its large enough, for the canvas an at least 10 inches. Also, many things that are available on TalasOnline.com can also be found on Amazon.com, but you do know that with TalasOnline.com, you are getting quality products for conservation use and you don't have to weed through 500 options to pick from (and I am NOT an affiliate for any links below). Finally, when listing chemicals and ingredients I am using, these are just that....what I am using and there are other options which may be better or worse, but this is where I am at any given time. Also I don't like leaving the shop, so tend to buy everything online unless I am going to Lowe's/Home Depot or the lumber yard.
Wood for Frame (Strainer)
Used to stretch the canvas onto the frame. Masa paper will be adhered to it with the wheat paste and poster to the Masa.
Depending on the size, you could use 1x3 or 2x4 lumber. Construction grade is fine for this.
Distilled water (Harris Teeter)
You can use tap water for most of the rinsing steps and then use distilled in the final step.
Use distilled water in all of the chemical and paste mixes.
Canvas (DickBlick.com)
12oz Duck canvas is the most popular. I found DickBlick has it for a very good price to start off with.
I am also trying a 10oz smooth texture from JerrysArtarama.com as I wanted to see if I can have less texture showing through the poster. Some say this creates a "wavy" backed poster, but since I frame, this doesn't concern me as I can easily handle this in the mounting process.
The gold standard and expensive is a 12oz Belgian Canvas...I don't use it (yet) and may upgrade down the road.
Masa Paper 70gsm (TalasOnline.com)
They have Bright White and Soft White, use the color that best compliments the poster. The 70gsm is most often the preferred weight for linen-backed posters.
Masa Paper 50gsm (HiromiPaper.com)
I use Hiromi for other papers along with TalasOnline.com, a good selection and sometimes when Talas may be out of stock, I can go here. In this case I was specifically looking for a Soft White Masa which Tasas was out of stock on and found they had 50gsm, and wanted to see how this weight might work.
Clear Mylar (TalasOnline.com)
Used to "sandwich" the poster between 2 sheets of Mylar for support during the wet work.
I have been using 4mil Mylar and it worked fine, but you can get a 7mil or 7.5mil which many prefer.
Wheat Paste
Wheat Starch (TalasOnline.com)
Mixed with distilled water and calcium carbonate to make your wheat paste.
Calcium Carbonate (TalasOnline.com)
This will raise the pH and act as a buffer, preventing the wheat paste from being too acidic.
This is added to the wheat paste (10% calcium carbonate to 90% wheat starch, by weight)
Whisk and Spoon (Silicone)
Saucepan
Stove or Hotplate
Refrigerator
Recipe: Talas and Metropolitan Museum of Art Conservation Dept.
De-Acidification and Cleaning
You can skip this area initially for testing purposes if you want.
I found this general recipe at the Liberty Hill Comics primarily. Their is based on science and what I like about their posts, is that they are detailed and specific, which is often lacking on the various forums.
The chemicals below can be mixed together for a combined de-acidification and cleaning solution or mixed separately for de-acidification only and cleaning only solutions. I combine them for now but may switch later.
Calcium Hydroxide (Amazon.com)
Used for de-acidification, initially mixed with distilled water to make a Saturated Calcium Hydroxide, then diluted for use.
Orvus or Triton X-100 (Amazon.com)
Used for cleaning
I am using Triton X-100 as I now have a lifetime supply, but Orvus is probably the more commonly used product and safer to use. My recipes will show with Triton X-100, so if using Orvus, you will need to research that recipe yourself (or wait for me to use it).
There are MANY other options in this space, so feel free to do more research. Maybe start at TalasOnline.com and see what cleaning solvents they offer and go from there.
Bleaching *** TODO ***
I haven't done any bleaching yet as it has the potential to be much more volatile, so will update as I get to that process and do extensive testing. Trying to find specifics on this one is a bit challenging, lots of generals, but not details. Photo bleaching may also be something I investigate, although a little more challenging on a larger scale.
You can skip this area initially for testing purposes if you want.
Calcium Hypochlorite?
Acetic Acid?
Photobleaching (Blue 460nm lighting)?
Trays
You will need a tray (or table with drainage on the sides I guess) which will be large enough to fit your Mylar sandwich in, so lets say you are doing a 27" x 41" one sheet poster, then maybe 33" x 47" minimum inside dimension.
I made one out of wood and painted inside with epoxy resin and put a drain in the corner to drain into a 5 gallon bucket. You can find various trays out of some type of plastic for photography or even washer drain pans, so look around on Amazon.com.
Stretcher-strainer frame for Canvas
These can be pretty simple made with 2x4 wood or you can make some nicer ones, but in the end they will have a lifetime of 50 or so canvases before you have to replace them.
Various sizes and will need to be at least 4"-6" larger than your poster as well as larger than the mylar sandwich.
Watercolor Pencils (Amazon.com)
You will use these for touchups of the poster fold lines and other areas needing minor restoration work.
I went way overboard with the Faber Castel Albrecht Durer 120 Watercolor Pencil Set Tin. Expensive, but incredible.
Miscellaneous stuff
Big flat work table (covered with plastic or something that you can wipe off easily...it will get wet.
Sprayers
I probably went a little overboard here, but I got a USB cordless electric 1.5 liter small sprayer (de-acidification and cleaner), a larger 5 liter USB cordless sprayer (distilled water), and 2 small mist sprayers (probably for bleaching, but not used yet)
A couple generic spray bottles come in handy. I keep one always with distilled water and use it to wet and rewet canvas and Masa before I apply the paste.
Buckets
Probably 2 or 3 will be needed, I got one 5 gallon bucket and two 1.5 gallon buckets.
Sponges
Funnel
Coffee Filters
I use these to filter out the undissolved portion of the Calcium Hydroxide when saturating it. Technically this can be optional as you can just let the excess settle and pour off the top.
Applicators (for wheat paste)
Probably most people doing this use paint rollers for this, and I did buy some, but I also wanted to go with a brush method and ended up buying a set of [pricey] Japanese mounting brushes from TalasOnline.com.
I find the brush puts down a more consistent layer of paste than the rollers and don't think I will be using the rollers any further.
Squeegee (BHPhotoVideo.com)
The Legacy Pro ones are very nice on B&H
Brayer (4" or 6", soft)
I just got some cheap ones off Amazon.com, but maybe a SpeedBall soft would be good. I would stay away from a black roller and go with clear or light color so you can see any dirt on it.
Generally speaking, try to use this as little as possible. But do find this works well when you apply the Masa to the canvas and then use the brayer to push excess paste out smooth the surface.
Various jars / containers to store mixed chemicals
1-2 liter size should be good. I use some empty 1.5liter vodka bottles and a few Ball 1 quart mason jars.
Strainer to strain the wheat paste, fine mesh
I got one that would fit nicely into a Ball jar with a 3" mouth, but in hindsight should have just got a bigger one.
Wood or glass mixing sticks
Use these primarily for mixing any chemicals.
Measuring
Glass metric lab measuring beakers or large and small measuring cup
Measuring spoons (ideally showing imperial cups/spoons and metric)
Scale to weigh ingredients 100g x 0.001g
[Optional] Magnetic stirrer
Yeah, a nice-to-have, but relatively inexpensive and fun to watch!
[Optional] Blender
I just sometimes use an immersion hand blender to smooth the wheat paste, although using it less and less as filtering lumps through the strainer does just fine.
[Optional] Hotplate and Saucepan
Since I work out of a warehouse, I needed to be able to make the wheat paste on location, so purchased this. Technically, you can do it in a microwave, but its a pain.
There will be a whole slew of other things specific to restoration that I will not be focusing on here, like specialty Japanese papers, methyl cellulose, tape removal, stain removal, etc. etc.
Lets just get through the basic process of wetting, de-acidifying/cleaning, rinsing and backing the poster. Areas such as bleaching, restoration/touchups, etc. will come in future posts.
Well, that's it for the tooling and supplies. The next post will probably building out a canvas stretcher frame. This can be simple or elaborate, of course I will go the elaborate route...but most professional linen-backers just make simple canvas frames.
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