Advisory Notice Concerning Pre-Primed Canvas Supports

In our most recent Just Paint Newsletter we issued an advisory notice concerning cases of adhesion failure of acrylic paints onto pre-primed canvases reported to us by our customers. Following up on those reports, our testing found that the majority of the canvases appeared to do well and that even in cases where we saw early adhesion failure many of these canvases improved over time to the point where adhesion was adequate. However, in a few cases, acrylic paint clearly failed to adhere to some canvases. It is important, even critical, to be aware of the limitations of the testing that was done. Our focus was always to create a testing procedure an artist might reasonably undertake in a studio setting with limited environmental controls and using familiar, easily followed methods. Lastly, even at their best, these tests can only predict if a problem might exist on the specific canvas you are testing.

So, do we believe there is a problem to be studied and concerned about? Yes. Do we know the extent or exact cause of the problems? No. The work that lies ahead will need to be done in a slow, deliberative and rigorous way, and this inevitably takes time to organize and carry out.  We have also been greatly encouraged by our conversations with our fellow colleagues in the field who are just as anxious and willing to proceed in this direction as we are. The work that remains is best accomplished through the collaborative system and blind testing procedures that the ASTM committees are set up to perform. It is also through that body that an accepted product quality standard for pre-primed canvases can be created by all. We continue to firmly believe this is the only real and practical solution.

Our hope is to play a constructive role in this venture as we move forward and to advance the mutual interests of all concerned. To that end, we are sharing a couple of non-destructive testing methods we believe might help an artist determine if a particular pre-primed canvas might exhibit adhesion issues when used with acrylic paints. We also show a potential method for improving adhesion in those few cases where problems might be seen. While every attempt has been made to evaluate the effectiveness of these procedures, each situation can present unique issues and artists should always test for their own application. Please contact our Technical Support staff at 800-959-6543 or by email at techsupport@goldenpaints.com with any questions or concerns and they will be happy to work with you.

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