Artist Surfaces Museum Grade Wooden Panels are made to order and exclusively handcrafted at our Kent workshop. Our painting panels apply modern material and structural engineering to address the primary failure mode of traditional wooden supports: movement and warping over time. They are engineered for artists that require warp-free, archival museum grade supports.
 
Materials
Our Wooden Painting Panels are constructed with a PEFC and FSC-certified poplar plywood face bonded to a birch plywood subframe. Birch plywood provides a dense, durable structure with excellent resistance to knocks and handling damage. Poplar plywood is selected for its low weight, fine uniform grain structure and pale ivory tone, providing a smooth consistent painting surface.
 
Warp-Free Structural Engineering
Our Wooden Painting Panels are engineered to remain warp-free through the integration of a specially designed aluminium extrusion, discreetly incorporated into the reverse of the panel. This reinforcement reduces the need for multiple crossbars, lowering overall weight whilst maintaining structural stability and performance.
 
Laser Welding
We fabricate our aluminium subframes using fibre laser welding, a precision process that creates exceptionally strong, clean welds with a highly controlled heat input. Fibre lasers concentrate energy into a very small, accurately directed weld zone, producing deep fusion and consistent joints while minimising distortion.
 
A key advantage of our method is that we can laser weld the aluminium subframe with the wood already attached. Because the heat-affected area is tightly localised and precisely controlled, the welding process can be carried out without compromising the wood or introducing unnecessary thermal stress into the assembly. The result is a subframe engineered for maximum stability with minimal material and minimal visual intrusion.
 
This is a highly pared-down structural system: fewer components, fewer failure points, and a welded subframe that behaves as a unified, engineered structure. In practical terms, it delivers the strongest, cleanest, and most stable painting panel subframe in the world.
 
Integrated Security Bar
The aluminium subframe incorporates an integrated security bar as standard for all hanging orientations. It forms a discrete retaining lip along the underside of the panel, helping to secure the artwork in position and preventing any accidental slippage from wall fixings.
 
Bonding, Flatness, and Finish
Adhesion and flatness are controlled through a hydraulic cold-press process using a D4 waterproof PVA adhesive, with panels cured under consistent pressure for 24 hours to achieve optimal bonding and long-term stability. Precision cutting with industrial workshop equipment ensures clean edges and accurate, repeatable dimensions across all formats. Each panel is then sanded and finished by our technicians to the highest standard, ensuring they meet museum grade quality throughout.
 
Optional Services
Optional preparation services are available, including Golden GAC 100 sealing and gesso. 
 
We also offer Museum Grade Stretched Wooden Panels with either Linen or Canvas. 
 
Industry-Leading Support Design
Artist Surfaces is the only company in the world creating fully warp-free museum grade wooden painting panels. Combining museum grade materials with advanced fabrication methods, our panels represent a significant step forward in painting support design; arguably the most meaningful technical advancement since the adoption of the stretcher in the Renaissance.