Ampersand panels vs. lumberyard
By Michael Skalka
When posed with the question: Is it preferable to purchase a hardboard painting panel made by an art materials manufacturer as opposed to buying a hardboard obtained from a lumberyard, the rationale for debating which painting panel will perform better can easily evolve into a highly technical discussion. Citing density measured in pounds per square foot and terms like modulus of rupture can make an artist recall the lyrics of the song “She Blinded Me with Science" by Thomas Dolby. A highly complex explanation of hardboard specifications may ultimately “win the war,” but the feeling of “losing the battle” based on confusion will be experienced by artists who explore the world of hardboard manufacturing.
So let us examine the issue of selecting Ampersand panels vs. lumberyard hardboards from a more practical, subjective vantage point.
What is the origin of the product you are buying from a lumberyard? Understand that hardboard from a lumberyard is a commercial building product. The lumberyard does not have a stack of general-use hardboard, or another stack labeled “the good stuff that is ideal for art panels.” The longevity and related qualities that an artist seeks in a hardboard panel cannot be easily evaluated by purchasing any lumberyard product. While technical data sheets can help somewhat, one goes back to being “blinded by science” again. In a few instances, the species of the raw materials that are ground, heated, and pressed into hardboards may be specified, which is revealed mostly to prove that the wood comes from a “sustainable/renewable” source.
Ampersand uses true high-density hardboard made from US-grown renewable and FSC-certified Aspen wood fibers. Ampersand brand Hardbord™ is made without formaldehyde or harmful VOCs (volatile organic compounds) unlike other hardboards and MDF boards.
Even that bit of knowledge upon further examination is questionable from an environmental viewpoint because different camps argue about what wood species is truly sustainable. Lumberyard hardboard will always maintain a degree of doubt as to its suitability as a long-term, stable painting support.
Color will not reveal any critical information to the buyer about hardboard quality. All hardboard is brown. The finish will tell you something. Most lumberyard hardboards are only smooth on one side. The other side reveals the imprint of the screen that carried the ground wood through the board-making process. The rough side will be a source for potential moisture uptake since the fibers are not compressed the way the smooth side is finished. This leaves more surface area for moisture to penetrate the board, potentially leading to the warping of the material.
Lumberyard hardboards are offered S1S (smooth 1 side). The surface area of the rough side allows the absorption of moisture, potentially leading to warping.
But, for the sake of this discussion, you cast aside your doubts, you plunge ahead, purchase a sheet of lumberyard hardboard, and bring it home.
How do you turn a 4x8 foot sheet into usable painting panels? Assuming you have a suitable vehicle to get a large, very floppy piece of hardboard to your home, now what do you do? Here comes the even more challenging part. You need to convert a 4x8 foot piece of hardboard into smaller painting panels. This is where the notion of buying lumberyard hardboard can come to a grinding halt.
Unless an artist has a level of expertise in the use of a table saw or circular saw, the act of cutting large pieces of wood should be left to those who can do these tasks.
However, let’s say you have woodworking skills or have a friend who is willing to cut large sheets of hardboard, or you can convince or pay a lumberyard to cut a sheet into usable painting panels, you face many more tasks ahead.
How will you prepare the surface for painting? With the completion of the cutting of the panels into the sizes you wish to use, the next step is finishing the hardboard to be ready to apply the medium of your choice. You may also need to add stiffening materials to any large hardboard panel you create. Nearly any panel beyond 14 inches in either direction will be too flexible to provide adequate, stable support. Stiffening of a panel in the form of battens applied to the rear of a hardboard panel is needed to retain stability. A lumberyard usually has a variety of wood products that can be used as “ready-made” battens.
An important step in making lumberyard panels ready for paint application is preparing the surface to accept paint. Sealing the surface to prevent support-induced discoloration is important. Next, the application of a suitable primer is needed to allow the paint to properly adhere to the panel. Several coats are needed, and, in many instances, the surface may need to be lightly sanded to create a smooth finish.
Overall, the hours spent, and the risks taken to create hardboard painting supports from lumberyard materials could be far better spent actually making artwork. If you factor in the time it takes and the tools and materials needed, the ready-made Ampersand panel will be a far better choice.
Ampersand Panels: The concept of a ready-made panel that can be used immediately without any preparation is an idea that sells itself. In every online art forum where making painting panels is discussed, someone always brings up a convincing argument. “Wouldn’t you rather spend your time painting rather than making panels?” That usually ends the discussion because it makes sense. Unless some unusual circumstances exist, an artist will always enjoy making artwork rather than engaging in complicated carpentry.
If you are unconvinced that ready-made Ampersand panels provide substantial savings in cost and free up time for painting, as an example let’s outline the steps required in cutting a single 4x8 foot sheet of lumberyard hardboard into 36 panels measuring 8x10 inches each.
- Setting up and cutting 36 pieces of painting support (bearing in mind that accuracy is important).
- If an acrylic dispersion primer is used, factor in time for sealing the smooth Hardboard surface to mitigate against support-induced discoloration (SID). (SID occurs when water-based surface coatings draw water-soluble brown wood materials from the hardboard into the primer and turn the primer light brown.)
- The final step is the application of a surface coating. Priming will require applying a minimum of 2 coats of an acrylic or oil-based coating.
Many steps are required to make a hardboard ready to use.
It is easy to see how preparing your own Hardboard surface can easily take hours away from your painting process.
But what if an artist is not content with standard sizes of Ampersand panels? Ampersand has a custom fabrication option that allows the purchase of unusual sizes if they do not exceed 48x90 inches. However, with over 40 standard size choices from 4x4 inches to 48x72 inches of a panel such as Gessobord, it would be difficult to not find a size that is suitable for most artists. Further, panels are fabricated in several configurations. Made without cradles, they are called “flat.” Panels are also available with 7/8 inch cradles, 1 ½ inch cradles, and 2 1/8 inch cradles for choices of Gessobord painting panels.
Ampersand panels are available in a variety of cradled and flat profiles.
Unless you are engaged in special custom work, one of the many standard sizes and cradle configurations should fulfill your needs.
Resorting briefly to employing wood-related technical jargon, all Ampersand hardboard products are made in S2S format. Translated, S2S means “smooth 2 sides.” This allows Ampersand supports to have far better resistance to moisture intake and the ability to fight against warping. While Ampersand panels have the same smoothness on both the front and back of the panel, recall that most lumberyard hardboards are offered S1S (smooth 1 side) which accounts for the appearance of the wire screen imprint on the back of the panel. The surface area of the rough side allows the absorption of moisture that the dual smooth-sided boards resist.
Ampersand Hardbord is made in "S2S" format which means "smooth 2 sides". This allows Ampersand supports to have far better resistance to moisture intake and the ability to fight against warping.
Further, Ampersand panels are surfaced with a proprietary coating they call “Archiva-Seal” which prevents support-induced discoloration, as previously described.
While most Ampersand hardboard products have an initial coating of Archiva-Seal and a coating of a primer, their product labeled simply “Hardbord™” is made for artists who wish to apply their own priming.
Most Ampersand panels are ready to use. The biggest preparatory effort an artist will have to exercise is figuring out how to slip a palette knife into the shrink-wrap protective packaging to remove it so that the panel can be made ready for painting. The plastic wrap assures that the product comes to you clean and it provides a degree of moisture protection while a panel is in transit or stored at a retailer.
Another notable attribute regarding Ampersand panels is the fit and finish. The sizes are true. The edges are clean and smooth. The coatings are as uniform as the paint finish applied to a typical automobile. No brush marks, blemishes, or defects are apparent on Ampersand panels. If you are an artist who savors a high level of texture derived from the hand-brushed application of primers, it is perfectly fine to apply an additional coating of your favorite primer and texture it to your liking. If you want to exercise total control over the priming process, the aforementioned Hardbord product has no factory primer and is just an unembellished panel ready to prime. You may even opt to adhere your favorite canvas fabric to the panel if you prefer the texture of a woven surface.
If you fabricate your own hardboard panels from lumberyard stock, the work you would need to put into matching the surface of an Ampersand panel would add considerable time and effort to your homemade painting support process. You may also find that some of your panels are not exactly the size you intended to make. Woodworking tools in a home environment are no match for the sophisticated, computerized, calibrated equipment the craftsmen and craftswomen at Ampersand use that is designed to produce consistent, uniform quality.
While the examples discussed focused on using Ampersand Gessobord panels for oil-based materials, the inventory of hardboard-based Ampersand products spans a variety of media that can be used. A sampling of the products made by Ampersand using hardboard substrates include Aquabord, designed for water-based media, and Claybord, made for use with a wide variety of art materials. (Special Note: Claybord used with oil paints creates a notable painting experience and appearance that is unlike any other.) Ampersand’s Gessobord provides a surface akin to acrylic primed board. Gessobord is also produced in a shadow box format. Hardbord is the unprimed hardboard that allows an artist to customize their surface. Pastelbord contains a rough, toothy surface that is ideal for use with pastels. Encausticbord is designed for artists who work with wax-based painting materials. Scratchbord is a product with white clay undercoating and an India ink surface coat that provides a wonderful, ready-made way to create artwork using a sharp stylus to cut through the ink to reveal the white lines of a drawing.
Ampersand provides a wide range of painting supports for artists. While this article focuses on Ampersand versus lumberyard hardboards, the underlying advantage of using Ampersand panels is the stability of the foundation that serves to hold the medium of your choice. Solid panels offer the best way to assure the longevity of your artwork.
About Michael Skalka:
Michael Skalka is an art materials expert and the current Chairman of D01.57, Artists’ Materials, a standards making subcommittee that is part of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). He served for over 36 years at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC as Conservation Administrator along with overseeing a collection of 25,000 art materials produced from the 19th to the 21st centuries.
Michael maintains The Syntax of Color that focuses on the history of pigments, art materials usage, and techniques, reviews of art products, and health and safety tips for artists.
