Connecting to Collections Care

A framed print in our collection has self adhesive "bumpons" at the back lower corners of the frame, presumably applied by the commercial framer before the print's donation in the early 1990s. The frame has been stored flat on an ethafoam-lined, metal shelf for many years, but during a recent inventory a curator found that the brown bumpers were dissolving and soaking into the frame's paper backing. Has anyone else noticed similar deterioration? A 3M technical sheet indicates their bumpons are polyester with a polyurethane backing film and acrylic adhesive, I do not know if these bumpers are the same material though.

A framed print in our collection has self adhesive "bumpons" at the back lower corners of the frame, presumably applied by the commercial framer before the print's donation in the early 1990s. The frame has been stored flat on an ethafoam-lined, metal shelf for many years, but during a recent inventory a curator found that the brown bumpers were dissolving and soaking into the frame's paper backing. Has anyone else noticed similar deterioration? A 3M technical sheet indicates their bumpons are polyester with a polyurethane backing film and acrylic adhesive, I do not know if these bumpers are the same material though.

A framed print in our collection has self adhesive "bumpons" at the back lower corners of the frame, presumably applied by the commercial framer before the print's donation in the early 1990s. The frame has been stored flat on an ethafoam-lined, metal shelf for many years, but during a recent inventory a curator found that the brown bumpers were dissolving and soaking into the frame's paper backing. Has anyone else noticed similar deterioration? A 3M technical sheet indicates their bumpons are polyester with a polyurethane backing film and acrylic adhesive, I do not know if these bumpers are the same material though.

A framed print in our collection has self adhesive "bumpons" at the back lower corners of the frame, presumably applied by the commercial framer before the print's donation in the early 1990s. The frame has been stored flat on an ethafoam-lined, metal shelf for many years, but during a recent inventory a curator found that the brown bumpers were dissolving and soaking into the frame's paper backing. Has anyone else noticed similar deterioration? A 3M technical sheet indicates their bumpons are polyester with a polyurethane backing film and acrylic adhesive, I do not know if these bumpers are the same material though.

A framed print in our collection has self adhesive "bumpons" at the back lower corners of the frame, presumably applied by the commercial framer before the print's donation in the early 1990s. The frame has been stored flat on an ethafoam-lined, metal shelf for many years, but during a recent inventory a curator found that the brown bumpers were dissolving and soaking into the frame's paper backing. Has anyone else noticed similar deterioration? A 3M technical sheet indicates their bumpons are polyester with a polyurethane backing film and acrylic adhesive, I do not know if these bumpers are the same material though.

Hello,

Years ago (2009), when I starting working at the Burns Library I noticed that a number of framed works had these brown-colored "bumpons". The framed art work had been hanging in a hallway likely since the 1980s. The bumpers on the frames had begun to soften and material had oozed, staining the wall. The stains were easily lifted with a crepe square and the bumpers were removed from the frames. I then suggested that the art work held within the frames be placed in archival storage.

I have seen these bumpers still being sold in stores (they appear to be the same type and maker), so conservators should be on the lookout for them even on frames not prepared by professionals. 

Best, Barbara Adams Hebard

A framed print in our collection has self adhesive "bumpons" at the back lower corners of the frame, presumably applied by the commercial framer before the print's donation in the early 1990s. The frame has been stored flat on an ethafoam-lined, metal shelf for many years, but during a recent inventory a curator found that the brown bumpers were dissolving and soaking into the frame's paper backing. Has anyone else noticed similar deterioration? A 3M technical sheet indicates their bumpons are polyester with a polyurethane backing film and acrylic adhesive, I do not know if these bumpers are the same material though.