How to Repair a Tear in a Canvas Painting

How do you restore a canvas painting?

The "secret" to repairing a tear in a canvas is to do it from the back of the canvas, not from the front. What you need to do is carefully line up the threads at the tear and then glue another piece of fabric to the back to hold it in place. The hard part is fixing it and laying it all flat.

Cut out a piece of canvas

Cut a piece of canvas that is at least an inch wider than the surrounding crack. You may want to cut off the rounded corners to prevent them from lifting. You can use heavy paper, but it is not as strong or flexible as fabric. If you don't have a canvas, a little light-colored fabric will do, but it shouldn't be too thin. Don't skimp on or cut a narrow strip of repair, as you don't want to strain the canvas fibers near the tear.

Place the image face down on a clean surface. Use acid-free glue ("white" craft glue) to glue the repair material. A primer like Acrylgesso or a medium like matte or gel also works well as an adhesive. Apply a thin, even layer of glue, plaster, or medium to the patch and place it over the crack. If the crack is under the stretcher, you can apply the repair cloth with a putty knife. Avoid the temptation to apply too much glue. it will just push the edges out and create a mess. A small piece of cardboard or plastic credit card works well to spread the glue or medium over the surface of the fabric.

Flip the canvas over so that it is right-side up, and place a book under the cast that is the same height as the stretcher so that the canvas rests where the tear is. (Place heavy paper or cardstock under the patch to protect the book from the glue.)

Insert loose threads

Check the alignment of the edges of the cracks. While the glue is still wet, use something small like tweezers, a needle, fine scissors, or a toothpick to push the loose threads into place as much as possible. You may not be able to organize all the threads neatly. The ones you can cut out when the glue has dried. Avoid sticking the glue to the front of the canvas. Place a piece of paper or a thin card on it, place another book on top of the repair, and let it dry completely. You can also turn the canvas to darken and place a book on the repair site to smooth it out while it dries.

Paint your repaired canvas

When the glue is dry, the canvas is ready to be painted. If the canvas is still blank, you can try to hide the crack under an additional plaster or medium. Even if the canvas is already painted, you can use a small brush to try adding extra or medium plaster to the crack in the front of the painting to bring the surface to the level of the original canvas. You may need a few layers.

Once the medium has dried, you can sand it lightly. Then, using the same medium as the original paint, carefully match the colors of the original. This is easier if you use a very small brush. Load the brush with the color you mixed and hold it close to the image to see if it matches the original color. Make sure the texture of the original paint also matches. If it is a highly textured paint, you have the advantage of hiding the tear with a texture of filling in the paint. You can also collage the repair location by creating a collage and mixed media piece.

If you are selling a painting or listing it for sale to a dealer who has repaired it, you may want to inform the buyer or dealer that you have repaired the canvas and may want to offer a discount.

• Note: If there is a crack in a valuable finished painting, it is worth hiring a trained restorer to perform a more refined repair, which may involve gluing all of the painting onto a new loading canvas.

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