Blog Tips for Restoration and Painting

Hello, I recently had a commission to create a map mural on canvas to be applied to a 16′ ceiling.  Since latitude and longitude lines connecting where they should was very important  I was concerned about even a miniscule amount of canvas shrinking so I decided to prime both sides of the canvas.  This worked remarkably well since the hanger had to reposition the 12′ long x 6′ high canvas sections several times.  He told me that in the past, when the canvas was raw on the paste side he had experienced stretching as well as shrinkage, and that with both sides primed, he had no difficulty at all.  I too have had canvas shrink and pull with the back side raw while hanging.  Having done some restoration in the past, I suppose priming both sides protects from mildew and moisture without disrupting adhesion.