HOW TO STRETCH YOUR OIL ON CANVAS PAINTING.

The perfect guide to a do it yourself STRETCH YOUR OIL ON CANVAS PAINTING.

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If you have just purchased an oil on canvas painting which was rolled and shipped to you in a secure post tube, you probably need to have the canvas stretched.

Stretching a canvas on a wooden frame is relatively easy and may also save you some $$$ money. That being said, we would also like to point out that just like many other things in life….sometimes it is better to pay a little and have your canvas stretched by professionals.

Before you continue and read about how to stretch canvas we recommend that you also read Stretching Methods Stretch Your Oil On Canvas Painting.

We highly recommend that if you have never stretched a canvas before, you may want to consider to first practice on a blank canvas before you attempt to stretch your painting.

Let’s go….Clean up your working area (flat surface recommended) and gather the following required supplies:

• 4 stretchers (wooden bars & crossbars for extra reinforcements)
• Small hammer
• Right angle
• Staple gun
• Wood glue
• Canvas Pliers (recommended – can also be performed by hand)
• Canvas (Your painting should have a white border between 3in – 6in on each side).
• Brown masking tape (optional)
• Metal frame hangers or metal screws with rope or cable

1.  You will first need to connect the stretcher bars and create a frame.  When gluing 2 stretcher bars together, use your right angle and make sure to create a 90 degrees angle between the bars.

2.  If you have any gaps or air pockets between the stretcher bars, carefully hammer the edges of the stretcher bars and eliminate any gaps between the edges of the stretcher bars.

3.  Wipe any glue excess from the wood, but make sure to keep the stretcher bars at a 90 degrees angle.

4.  After the glue has dried, use the staple gun to staple the stretcher bars to one another (staple on back side).

5.  Place the stretcher bars between you and the canvas.

Center the canvas, so that it is in the middle of the stretcher bars.

****before you continue *** remember **** it is better to place stapes on the back rather than on the side of the canvas******

6.  Staple the canvas to the top stretch bar (place one staple in the middle – backside).  Make sure to keep the canvas in position, flip the canvas & stretcher bars upside down.  Before you place the second staple on the opposite side make sure to carefully pull the canvas tightly (this does require some practice).  Some people recommend using a canvas plier for this process.

7.  Turn the canvas on its third side and make sure that the canvas remains even.  Now place a third staple in the middle of this side and pull tightly on the canvas with the canvas pliers.

8.  Turn the canvas on its last (forth) side and make sure that the canvas remains even.  Now place a forth staple in the middle of the forth side and pull tightly on the canvas with the canvas pliers.

9.  Using the canvas pliers pull down and make the canvas tight.  Place one staple on each side of the first staple that you placed in the middle of each stretch bar (total 2 more staples on each stretcher bar).   Place each new staple between 1 – 1.5 inches away from the previous staple.  Repeat the above step for all 4 sides while moving from one side to its opposite side.

10.  Continue and place 1 staple on each end of your previous staple (2 new staples total for each stretcher bar) and make sure to keep the canvas tight (place 2 new staples and move to the opposite side).

11.  Continue the above step (10) for each side till you are about 1.5 – 2 inches away from each corner.

12.  When folding the corners, fold the edges of each corner one on top of the other, tighten and place a staple. If your canvas is too loose, remove the staples and start again.

13.  For the perfect museum finish, using brown masking tape cover the staples on the back of the wood frame.

14.  If you decide to hang your stretched painting without a frame (gallery wrap or painted sides) we recommend that you use either a metal frame hanger, hook or metal screws with rope or cable.

Large paintings may require crossbar reinforcements.

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