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Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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I took off the cellophane wrapper off a new canvas in my portraiture class only to find that the paint not stick to it. It was creeping and crawling! I did solve it by applying acrylic medium to the whole canvas, but lost valuable time in doing so. I suppose it is my own fault in not giving it some gesso or undercoat in the first place, but has anyone else this problem?
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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Yes, and this has been referred to on several occasions on the Forum - trouble is, items slip down and get lost; it's always worth having a good trawl through subjects to see if your problem has come up before. However: perhaps you did, and didn't find it! So..... very often, unfortunately, canvases and boards are treated with a fungicide, especially if they're made abroad - eg in India - and shipped over here. You can see this if you hold the board/canvas up to a raking light - it shows as shiny, glistening areas in the weave. This is easier to deal with on boards, which are more robust, than on canvas, but the short answer is to wash the cloth with lukewarm or cold water; use a nail brush, even a little plain soap if necessary to get this stuff off. Towel dry it if possible - just pat it, and if shiny spots still remain, have another crack at them. Acrylic paint won't adhere to the fungicidal preparation; or even worse, it will until the point at which you come to varnish it, at which point it lifts. This by the way is original research you're getting here! I discussed it with a paint manufacturer, and this is what I learned. Once you are satisfied that all of this wretched stuff is out of your canvas, I would indeed paint it with two coats of acrylic gesso - I use the Daler Rowney Cryla brand, which like most things Daler-Rowney has never yet let me down. I'm interested in the manufacturer of these boards and canvases by the way - I HOPE the major companies are aware of this issue and don't sell imported boards, other than the Ampersand ones from the USA: but with the temptation to cut costs in all directions, we just can't be confident of this. If you don't want to identify the maker in public, PM me - I'm on a one-person crusade to stop these products being sold. www.isleofwightlandscapes.net
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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I doubt it'd be the cellophane, but it's possible. Check the surface anyway, and if you see shiny stuff - wash it out.
Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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Will do! Thanks!

Phil Kendall

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On the rare occasions in the past due to my poor vision and forgetting to take of the cellophane...acrylic sticks! I suspect a greasy substance... I always acrylic gesso prime any new canvas...with at lest two coats...

Phil Kendall

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I assume you are applying undiluted acrylic paint to canvas? Or was it over-diluted with water? Paynes Grey can be a tad greasy, were you using it?
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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Overly diluted paint - depending on manufacturer - will just rub off, or lift when varnished. Chromacolour claims to be capable of greater dilution than many brands, and from my own experience that's true, although I should still be careful of applying any very dilute acrylic to canvas. But there is a well-known and well-attested problem with some canvases, usually made in India and Far East, as described above - it's just not well-publicized by the suppliers of aritsts' canvas, and it ought to be, because the problem is solved by washing (the canvas, not yourself - you can be as clean as you like but it won't make any difference.....).

Edited
by RobertJones

With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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Not to watercolour paper it doesn't. On other surfaces - well, caution always recommended; there are of course degrees of dilution.

Alan Owen

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I have just painted both sides of a cheap watercolour paper with diluted PVC (I keep ready in a plastic bottle ).one side you can add little colour , for acrylics ,,,, and some hard board cheap cuts,, I add a little plaster of paris as I prepare(for tooth).I use an inch varnish brush from bromley,s for the large parts of the painting ,,