Lining to stretched flax or hemp fabric with an adhesive paste formulated with animal glue, Venice turpentine, and alum is described. To prevent moisture in the adhesive from detaching the paint layer, the reverse is first treated with a mixture of mastic, wax and Venice turpentine. The treated back is allowed to dry before proceeding with the lining. For fragile canvases with flaking paint, a mixture of wax mastic, and colophony applied with heat is preferred to glue.