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If you have a 36 x 60 stretched canvas sitting bare against the wall, a floater frame makes it look finished. A floater frame is a metal frame that surrounds your painting with a small visible gap, so the art looks like it is hovering inside the border. This guide covers the two floater frames actually built for that exact 36 x 60 canvas size. It explains why almost nobody gets the size right on the first try, and tells you which one to grab based on how much patience you have for assembly.
I’m Min — the founder and writer behind Gadgets Feed. This guide is built by comparing the manufacturers’ published specifications and the patterns across verified customer reviews, so you get each pick’s real strengths and trade-offs instead of marketing spin.
Both picks here arrive as unfinished bars you bolt together yourself. Both use a 1.5-inch rabbet depth — the recess that determines how thick a canvas will sit inside. The real difference depends on corner alignment and hardware quality, so keep reading for best 36 x 60 frame picks.
Our Picks at a Glance
How To Choose The Best 36 X 60 Frame
The single mistake that ruins most floater frame orders happens before you ever handle a screwdriver. Shoppers assume the number on the listing describes the outside of the frame, when it almost always describes the inside opening the canvas slides into. Get that backwards on a 36 x 60 canvas and you either order a frame too small to accept the artwork or one that swims around it.
Size means the inner opening, not the outer edge
A floater frame is listed by the canvas size it holds, so a 36 x 60 frame takes a 36 x 60 stretched canvas. The outer metal adds several inches beyond that, which is why both frames here measure slightly wider than 36 inches at the outer edge. Measure your canvas edge to edge before ordering, not the box it shipped in.
Rabbet depth decides which canvases fit
Rabbet depth is the depth of the recess behind the frame lip — the space your canvas thickness sits in. Both picks use a 1.5-inch rabbet, and one of them spells out a recommended range of 1.2 to 1.5-inch canvas prints. A standard gallery-wrapped canvas is around three quarters of an inch thick, which drops into a 1.5-inch rabbet with room to spare behind it.
The floating gap is the whole point
That visible 0.2-inch strip of space on every side is what separates a floater frame from a regular picture frame. It is why the art reads as suspended rather than wedged in, and it is why floater frames look right on thick canvases that a standard frame cannot close around.
Quick Comparison
In‑Depth Reviews
1. FOLKOR Canvas Floater Frame for 36×60 Landscape Portrait, 1.5″ Deep, Black
The heaviest aluminum bar in the pair, from a brand that makes only art frames
For anyone framing a finished 36 x 60 canvas they actually care about, this is the one to start with. FOLKOR builds nothing but art frames and handmade paintings, and it shows in the materials: high-quality aluminum alloy with a brushed finish, which is the fine-directional grain you can see catching light across the metal. It measures 60.6 inches long by 36.6 inches wide at the outer edge, and each side leaves a 0.2-inch gap so the canvas reads as floating inside the border rather than crammed against it. It holds 4.3 stars across 700+ ratings, with unusually consistent feedback for a frame this size.
What wins people over is the quality of the build — the brushed finish, the clean lines, the fact that it reads like a gallery piece instead of a craft-store kit. It is rated for a 1.5-inch rabbet depth, so thicker canvases drop in with room behind them, and that depth also means the assembly gets fiddly on large formats. Buyers report the honest version of it: “Fits 30×30″ 3/4″ thick canvas but frame is deep. Assembly difficult, needs 2 people, video helps. Included screws too big for pre-drilled holes. Looks nice finished. 4 stars.” That is a 36 x 60 frame asking for help, a video, and a bit of patience rather than a solo ten-minute job.
Set against the Akfado below, this one runs 60.6 inches by 36.6 inches at the outer edge versus 60 by 36 — a slightly wider shell around the same canvas. The aluminum is also tarnish resistant and weatherproof, so a canvas in a bright or humid room will not dull. If you are framing one canvas and want it to look like you paid a studio, this is your frame.
Where It Wins
- Brushed aluminum alloy with a finish that resists tarnish and holds up to weather
- 60.6″ x 36.6″ outer shell around a 1.5-inch rabbet, so thick canvases sit properly recessed
- Works horizontally or vertically, so the same frame handles your landscape or portrait piece
- Reusable — unframe the art and reuse the bars for another canvas
The Trade-Off
- Assembly is the recurring gripe — most owners call it a two-person, watch-the-video job
- Corners are fussy to bring flush, and some units arrive with screws too large for the pre-drilled holes
- The cut metal edges are sharp enough to catch a finger mid-assembly, so handle the bars carefully
- The finish scratches if you drag a screwdriver across it, so work on a soft surface
The Call: Buy this if you are framing a single 36 x 60 canvas and want the best-looking metal shell around it, with a second person available for assembly.
skip it if: You plan to put it together alone on a tight schedule — the deeper rabbet and tighter corners ask for more hands than the Akfado does.
2. Akfado Floater Frame for 36×60 Canvas Paintings, 1.5″ Deep, Black
About half an hour from flat bars to a hung canvas, solo
The Akfado is the frame you buy when the canvas is already leaning against the wall and you want it hung this weekend. It is the same idea as the FOLKOR — solid aluminum alloy bars, brushed finish, 1.5-inch rabbet, 0.2-inch gap on each side for the floating look — but the assembly experience is where it pulls ahead. Owners keep describing it the same way, and one summed it up cleanly: “Easy assembly, screws onto 40×40 canvas. All included except Phillips screwdriver. 30 minutes. Align by standing up, screw top/bottom, flip, then rest. Looks great, cheaper than framing store.”
Akfado spells out its own fit range: the frame is sized by inner dimension, so a 36 x 60 canvas orders the 36 x 60 frame, and the recommended canvas thickness runs 1.2 to 1.5 inches. There is no backboard and no glass cover, which is exactly right for a floater — you want the canvas open at the back so it sits in the recess and floats. Pre-drilled holes line up the bars for you, hangers can be placed anywhere along the rails, and hardware for both the canvas and the wall comes in the box.
Where the FOLKOR demands two sets of hands, this one is routinely done solo in around half an hour. It also costs less while matching the FOLKOR’s inner opening for the same 36 x 60 canvas, and it comes in at 60 by 36 inches at the outer edge versus the FOLKOR’s 60.6 by 36.6. The trade is a slightly lighter, less heavily-built bar, and corner alignment still takes patience — the frame also arrives unfinished, so getting those corners flush is on you.
The assembly edge: Pre-drilled holes and a no-instructions-needed layout mean a single person can bolt the bars, screw the canvas in, and hang it inside a half hour. Hangers can go anywhere on the rails, so wall studs and existing hooks are both workable.
The honest catch: Getting the corners gap-free takes time, and tightening screws alternately is the trick. No spacers ship in the box, so take care with the bars — the cut aluminum edges are sharp, and the material build is a step below the FOLKOR.
Reach For This If: You are assembling alone, want the process to be genuinely quick, and can accept a lighter-feeling bar for a simpler build.
Look Elsewhere If: You want the heaviest, most solid metal frame in the pair and have a second person to help — that is the FOLKOR’s territory.
Understanding the Specs
Rabbet Depth And Canvas Thickness
Rabbet depth is the recess behind the frame lip — the channel your canvas thickness sits inside. A 1.5-inch rabbet takes a standard gallery-wrapped canvas with room to spare, because a wrapped edge is usually around three quarters of an inch thick. Akfado explicitly recommends its 1.5-inch frame for canvas prints between 1.2 and 1.5 inches thick. Measure your canvas edge depth before ordering; if it sits around 1.5 inches, both of these frames fit.
Inner Opening Vs Outer Dimensions
Floater frames are listed by the canvas they hold, so the 36 x 60 in the name describes the inner opening. The metal adds several inches on each side — hence the 60.6 by 36.6 outer measurement on the FOLKOR and 60 by 36 on the Akfado. That difference matters on a wall: a wider shell takes up more space and needs a bit more clearance around the art than you might expect. The 0.2-inch gap per side is the floating effect itself, so it is a feature, not a flaw.
FAQ
Do I order the 36 x 60 frame for a 36 x 60 canvas?
Will a 1.5-inch thick canvas fit these frames?
How long does assembly actually take on a 36 x 60 floater frame?
Why are the corners so hard to line up on these frames?
Are these floater frames real aluminum or plastic?
Do these frames come with a backboard or glass cover?
Can I hang a 36 x 60 floater frame vertically and horizontally?
Do I need a drill or just a screwdriver for these frames?
Are the metal edges on floater frames sharp enough to cut?
Which frame is better for a small or oddly sized canvas?
Final Thoughts: The Verdict
For most buyers, the best 36 x 60 frame is the FOLKOR Canvas Floater Frame. Its brushed aluminum shell and 1.5-inch rabbet hold a thick 36 x 60 canvas properly recessed, and the brand frames paintings for a living. If you want the quickest path from a flat box of bars to a canvas on the wall, grab the Akfado Floater Frame — pre-drilled holes, roughly half an hour with a screwdriver, and no second pair of hands required. Either way, buy the frame for the canvas size, not the outer measurement, and check your canvas thickness against the 1.5-inch rabbet before you commit.
How We Picked
We do not accept paid placement. Every pick is matched to a real buyer and a real use-case; we do not hands-on test units.
Sources & Methodology
Specifications: manufacturer listings and product documentation. Review insights: verified customer reviews, as of September 2026. Pricing: not shown on this page (it changes often); check the current price via the retailer link.
As an Amazon Associate, Gadgets Feed earns from qualifying purchases. This does not affect which products we feature.