Maritime Antiques and Collectibles

Art Print

by admin | May 12th, 2010

Art Print

Is Your Canvas Art Print Coated or Not? That is the Question

You have just gone out and bought a lovely canvas art print that looks amazing and will fit in nicely with the furniture in your living room. However, you don’t even think about how long it will last because the shop you bought it from says the canvas art will last 100 years.

This may not be entirely true, and even if it is to last a 100 years the chances are it will look like a wrinkly old faded fabric hanging on your wall for your great grand kids to enjoy. If this is exactly what you wanted then clearly the answer is no, you do not need a coating on your canvas art print.

Instead, if you would like your canvas art to look as young and as colorful as the day you bought it then it would require a protective coating on the surface.

What is a canvas coating?

It is quite simply in most cases a fine film of laminate that covers the surface of the canvas to protect from dust, splashes of water and other harmful things that may come in its path over the years. It is carefully heated to join onto the canvas art print itself to make it inseparable.

How do I know if the canvas has a laminate / coating?

When and if you are in a shop and are looking at a canvas art print, it can sometimes be quite difficult to check whether it has a protective layer. The main things to do are the following:

Ask the shop keeper / online shop about whether the canvas art print has a coating on it. Chances are if they say yes then it will have it, if they reply with ‘a what on it?’ they most probably haven’t

Some laminates / protective coatings leave a subtle shine on the surface

Have they advertised that their canvas art prints are protected?

If it is clear after this that the canvas has not been coated with any form of protection, then you need to handle it with care and follow these steps:

Ask the shop to laminate it / or coat with protective layer (make sure you take a picture before and after to check for any damage) ask about their protection process as some coatings can leave a canvas with a yellow tint over time, google it to check the quality of the laminate they are using. If they refuse either get a refund or go next:

There should be professional art businesses in your area, ask them if they can point you in the direction of a laminator or canvas studio (or go to another shop that does laminate canvas art)

Do it yourself: Although not advised!!! And can end up damaging rather than improving the canvas art print. If your canvas art print has cost you as it has some others a small fortune, then make sure that you get it coated by a professional.

I hope this has helped some what in identifying how important it is to get your canvas art print coated. If you have it well coated, the chances are it will last almost as long as the shop keeper told you at the start.

About the Author

David Price

Canvas Art Land

The Home of Good Canvas

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