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How to Drymount with Contact Adhesives

Contact adhesives are types of glue which, when dry, will stick on contact with another surface with the same glue. In this category are rubber cement, Super 77, Photo Mount and Remount. Although not all adhesives of this type are suitable for archival mounting, drymounting with contact adhesive is a necessary technique for wrinkle-free bonding of large sheet papers to boards. Reproductions of portfolio pieces can be attractively presented on mount boards; posters and charts can be glued flatly to foam core board for professional-looking display. The following steps will ensure good results, even when mounting very large objects.

1. In a well-ventilated area, apply adhesive to the back of artwork and the front of mount board; allow to dry completely

2. Cut a sheet of clean, thin paper (drawing paper or brown kraft) slightly larger than the mount board to use as a slipsheet dividing the art and the board. Place mount board glue side up on floor or table; cover with slipsheet.

3. Position clean paper on the board so a strip of dry glue 1 inch wide is exposed.

4. Place artwork on top of slipsheet and board; position artwork in square with the corners of the board (if the art lands out of square, the glue-to-glue contact should be small enough to allow repositioning). Cover with glassine or thin, clean paper. Carefully press to adhere glued surfaces.

5. Begin pulling slipsheet from between artwork and board a few inches at a time, sliding smoothly out the end. Smooth artwork flat through top sheet of clean paper to remove bubbles.

6. Continue alternating pulling out slipsheet and smoothing out until artwork has been completely mounted.

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