How to Restretch a Canvas

Restretching a canvas painting requires a great deal of skill and planning. Slightly loose canvases can be tightened by any of the following procedures.

Canvas tightening keys, which are bits of wood that come with the art canvas, can be used to tighten a loose or sagging picture. Once the keys are wedged into the openings in the corners of the stretcher bars, the canvas becomes tighter and firmer. You can either spray or use a sponge to apply hot water to the back of the canvas to make it even tighter. If your canvas is too loose, you may not get the desired effect by these techniques alone. If so, you need to re-stretch the canvas.

What to Remember while Restretching Canvases

It's usually possible to restretch canvases on their original frame. In some cases you need to restretch the painting on a smaller frame if you just don't have any excess canvas left. This, though, wouldn't bring about the desired effect on display. Art canvas manufacturers therefore often provide canvases that have excess material to aid restretching on the original frame.

Restretching a canvas requires the following tools: Staples and heavy duty staple gun, a small screwdriver, canvas stretching pliers and a small lightweight hammer.

Step One - Separating the Canvas Material from the Frame

The first step in restretching a canvas is removing the canvas from the frame. Then use the screwdriver to lever-up the staples at the rear of the canvas. Now the staples are removed and you can separate the canvas from the frame.

Step Two - Aligning Canvas on the Frame and Stretching It

The next step is to place the canvas material on a flat surface. The painted or fair side must face down and the stretcher frame must be carefully positioned on top. It must be ensured that the bevelled edge is against the back side of the canvas. You can check the position of the stretcher frame by pulling the canvas briefly up over the edges of the frame. Do this one side at a time. If required, you can reposition the frame.

Now that the frame is in the correct position it's time to staple the canvas back onto the frame. Use the canvas stretching pliers to grab the canvas beginning midway along the stretcher bar on one side. Apply the first staple. Apply the next staple by pulling the canvas tight with the pliers 2 inches either side of where you applied the first staple. In short, you need to have 3 staples in one side of the canvas with a distance of 2 inches. If the staples you've put are slightly raised, all you need to do is tap them gently with the small hammer.

This process needs to be repeated on the opposite side of the stretcher bar and then on the two remaining sides. Apply 3 staples, beginning as always from the middle of the stretcher bar. Using the pliers, the canvas must be pulled tightly and staples put in approximately 2 inches apart. However, if you are dealing with large canvases don't put all the staples in one side at the beginning. It is better to progress by putting 2 staples on one side and then alternating the sides. Once you've reached the corners, the edge of the canvas must be folded and a staple placed.

Remember, restretching a canvas must be done at a measured pace as it requires considerable concentration and the utmost precision.

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