In the past there was a firm belief that lining treatments for canvas paintings would ensure their long-term physical preservation. Numerous British 19th and 20th-century publications on the subject testify to these aims. The present article gives a survey on the changes lining practice has undergone, explaining the long-term aims of lining, e.g. the environmental protection achieved by lining treatments and the prevention of mechanical deterioration. Special attention is given to cold lining processes, such as Berger and Russell’s BEVA 371 lining technique. Moreover the problem of the non-reversibility of lining is highlighted as well as the risk the removal of a previous lining presents for a painting. Even if the debate about reversibility as a guiding principle for conservation is briefly mentioned, the impossibility of removing glue-paste or wax-resin adhesives as well as the limited life expectancy of the last are emphasized. In contrast to this, better results in terms of reversibility are achieved with modern synthetic lining adhesives. In conclusion negative and positive aspects of this increasingly abandoned conservation practice are briefly mentioned and the lack of information and research about lining conservation materials and their suitability is underlined.