I want to shalac my puzzle. Do I shalac the front or the back? If the front, won't it fall apart?

Question

How much should I use?

To the second person that answered this-thank you thank you thank you. I can't vote for best answer yet since it has not been 6 hours. I will have to print this out.

Answer 1

I know that when I was younger my grandma would make a simple paste of flour and water and glue to to a piece of cardboard. I did some research though and here's what I came up with:

Gluing/Fixing a jigsaw puzzle.

I have not yet found the time to do an 18000pcs puzzle, but have one set aside for some time in the future. I have done several large puzzles (the largest so far being the 12000 New York Skyline). I mount all of them for display. I do them in sections, and do not mix all the bags of pieces together due to space restrictions.

When I complete a section, I glue the pieces together. I slide a piece of plastic (garbage bag, drop sheet, etc...) under the puzzle, or if working on a puzzle mat, drag the completed section off the mat onto the plastic with the help of a second person. The glue goes directly on the top (surface) of the puzzle working the glue into the spaces between the puzzle pieces and leaving as little on the surface of the puzzle as possible. Allow to dry 30-60 minutes and apply a full second coat if necessary. I push the pieces together as I glue them and try to keep the section as square as possible (ie vertical and horizontal edges at 90 degrees to each other.)

Subsequent finished sections are fitted to the previously glued section before gluing otherwise you may/will find the sections will not line up properly at the join.

The glue I prefer is the Ravensburger puzzle glue. I have used other companies sachets of glue in the past, but they tend to be very watery and can cause the puzzle pieces to swell and distort. I also found that the glue left a dull finish to the surface of the puzzle. This is the glue we use for all company laminations. It gives us the least amount of problems and is very employee friendly.

I then glue the entire puzzle onto a sheet of lightweight foam insulation using contact cement and construct a frame around that.
For very large puzzles some reinforcing with car body repair fiberglass/resin is recommended. Cut extra 3inch foam strips and use contact cement to glue them horizontally to the back of foam that the puzzle has been glued to. Then shape the fiberglass around the foam and resin it in place. At this time you can glue in your mounting points. This technique allows for a very lightweight but strong permanent structure that will not overly load the wall you are going to show your puzzle.

By extending the foam at the edges of the puzzle you can then use a sticky backed gold strips to provide a nice neat edging. Please see the pictures attached.

I hope this helps.

Happy puzzling to all and please send me your comments feedback to me.

Sheila
Vice President
Jigsaw Jungle International


I'll also put some links down for you to follow. It can get expensive so be careful about what you buy!!

Answer 2

Bush wanted to privatize a small part of social security. Congress said no. Partial birth abortions have been banned. Where were you a few weeks ago when Congress passed the illegal immigration act. We're building a fence. Clinton gave the North Koreans nuclear technology!!! Get your freakin facts straight! You're an absolute moron if you think those tyrannical maniacs were scared into building nukes!

Answer 3

you can buy puzzle glue from walmart or a hobby shop and follow the directions.