Prepare the board or panel -

If using plywood for paper stretching, I recommend that you seal it against moisture intrusion first. Hardwood panels such as birch are better.

On Masonite, clean off any oils or other contaminants using acetone or denatured alcohol; use gloves to protect yourself from contact, with acetone especially.

Wipe all surfaces, new or seasoned, with a damp cloth immediately prior to wetting the paper or applying ground to the panel.

Those of you who desire to make prepared panels rather than stretching paper can skip the following step sand jump right to the Ground Workshop.

Almost any paper can be used. I recommend a relatively thick, fine-surfaced paper - 80-lb watercolor paper works nicely, as does 4-ply bristol; in any case, you should ensure that the paper has a high or total rag content, as wood-fiber papers don't stretch well. But if you simply must use wood-based papers, treat it very gently!

Wet the paper thoroughly by immersing it completely in water for a few minutes, (less if it's wood pulp based - see technique for thinner, wood-based papers in the photo to the left) and lay it on a Masonite, plywood or hardwood panel (at least four inches larger in each dimension, if using the taping method.) Drain off excess water, and wipe gently with a cleancellulose sponge that is used only for this purpose, smoothing the paper out to make sure there are no bubbles or wrinkles.

Be very gentle with wood-based papers, and don't use the sponge; it tends to cause raisons.

The following two steps are for the taping method, which I no longer use but include for thoroughness:

Precut gummed brown kraft-faced tape - the type that you wet to make stick.

Wet the tape by pulling it across a wet sponge sitting in a saucer of water

Tape the paper to the board, smoothing and pressing each piece of tape as you go along. Don't be too aggressive, it can slide and then stick just where you don't want it.

Set this one aside and allow the paper to dry thoroughly; apply masking tape over the inside edges to keep the ground from seeping under the kraft tape and weakening the bond.

Instead of taping the paper, you can staple or tack paper to boards if you don't care about the paper's edges. Alternatively, there are commercial paper stretching devices such as "Zipp Clamps;" I've used them successfully and like them, but the cost compared to tape is high. On the other hand, removing stretched and prepared paper which has been successfully taped to a board is sometimes challenging.

My present prefered method is to make a half-inch plywood clamping board slightly smaller than the paper; using binder clips, as shown at left, I gently stretch and clip the paper. Large pieces require a lot of clips, thicker papers require closer spacing and even more clips. I start at the middle of each side first, then work my way toward the corners, where I fold the overlapping ends into an even vee-split, then clip that too.

When the paper has dried, one can either mask off the clips with wide masking tape, or use masking tape on the back side flap of paper and remove the clips (cleaning ground off of clips is not fun.)

The panels waiting for canvas. One is mahogany plywood with a support framework; the other is masonite.

I've applied glue water to the face of the panel and the underside of the canvas, stretched and stapled as I would for painting, and here I'm applying another liberal coat to the face. Next I'll hang it to dry.

Working the ground into the canvas surface. A super-fine brush is not necessary here, at least not for the first two coats.

Make sure you read the Ground Workshop before you proceed with this.