Mounting photos on MDF

[Geoff]

I've got some large photos (about 60cm * 40 cm and had a problem mounting them on mdf.....

I first mounted them with 3m photo mount (spray) without realising this was a temp mounting product - they peeled off after a few days....!

The then reapplied 3m spraymount onto the mdf and re mounted the pics. This was more successful but about 5 months later and in this warmer weather bubbles are starting to appear.....

Is this because there was still some of the old photomount on the surface or is this common with spray mount.

I was wondering if a better product was available - of do I need to prepare the mdf first by applying a pva wash or similar.

Any thoughts? Thanks

[Geoff]

Sorry - got that round the wrong way! It was Spray mount I originally used - then tried photo mount - mant to be permanent!

[Peter Ashby]

Yours are the likeliest. I have permanently mounted photos on cardboard with permanent sprays without problems. I have usually discarded and remade photos that have been sprayed and come off as removing the old glue is impractical. It certainly wouldn't hurt to pva the mdf first but I would go with virgin permamount first as the pva would tend to stop the glue interacting with the mdf. One reason you pva or otherwise size a surface prior to painting or wallpapering is because it is assumed you will want to remove the surface at some point. The face of an mdf board is very smooth and even so there is no necessity to size. Don't be stingy with the glue though either.

Peter