Discusses the history and development in the use of support materials for paintings from 1550 onwards and the influences of the various painting materials on canvas in particular. The attitudes towards paintings and conservation treatments have undergone great changes. A detailed description is given of the Dutch wax resin relining method with special attention to the function and the effect of gluing paper (newspaper quality, not Japanese paper) to the painting. Relining will, to a great extent, remain a necessary part of conservation and lessons from the past should not be ignored.