[alt-photo] Re: sizing options for color gum

Wed Jan 18 20:08:15 GMT 2012

Here's a suggestion to try. To minimize or prevent "fish eyes" (the hardened or dried layer of one surface repelling the wet emulsion of a new layer), try applying a very light rub of 600 grit sandpaper over the surface before you apply the new layer. If I know a certain pigment will probably cause fish eyes, such as dried layer of Sennelier Red for example, then light sanding can help minimize the fish eyes. Of course, fish eyes can pop up anytime, even when you least expect it. My Richeson 9010 brushes handle them with no worries—just a minor annoyance. Cheers.
Peter J. Blackburn
 > From: viapiano at pacbell.net
> To: alt-photo-process-list at lists.altphotolist.org
> Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:25:28 -0800
> Subject: [alt-photo] Re: sizing options for color gum
> 
> I wasn't criticizing or one-upping you, Don...or calling YOU fussy...love 
> ya, man!
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Don Bryant" <donsbryant at gmail.com>
> To: "'The alternative photographic processes mailing list'" 
> <alt-photo-process-list at lists.altphotolist.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 11:22 AM
> Subject: [alt-photo] Re: sizing options for color gum
> 
> 
> > Well to clarify for everyone, I have nothing against a foam brush or the
> > foam roller; I coat with a micro-foam roller and then burnish with the
> > badger hair brush, not fussy at all; quick, easy and effective for minor
> > flaws like fish eyes.
> >
> > Don
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: alt-photo-process-list-bounces at lists.altphotolist.org
> > [mailto:alt-photo-process-list-bounces at lists.altphotolist.org] On Behalf 
> > Of
> > Paul Viapiano
> > Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 2:09 PM
> > To: The alternative photographic processes mailing list
> > Subject: [alt-photo] Re: sizing options for color gum
> >
> > I use a foam brush or roller...works great, too!
> >
> > I find the less fussy I am with a process, the better it turns out...
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Don Bryant" <donsbryant at gmail.com>
> > To: "'The alternative photographic processes mailing list'"
> > <alt-photo-process-list at lists.altphotolist.org>
> > Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 10:46 AM
> > Subject: [alt-photo] Re: sizing options for color gum
> >
> >
> >> +1. Perfect excuse to have a badger hair brush (real or fake).
> >>
> >> Don
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: alt-photo-process-list-bounces at lists.altphotolist.org
> >> [mailto:alt-photo-process-list-bounces at lists.altphotolist.org] On Behalf
> >> Of
> >> Paul Viapiano
> >> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 1:36 PM
> >> To: The alternative photographic processes mailing list
> >> Subject: [alt-photo] Re: sizing options for color gum
> >>
> >> You can brush out those fish eyes... Just keep brushing if that's what
> >> you're experiencing.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On Jan 18, 2012, at 3:39 AM, Henry Rattle <henry.rattle at ntlworld.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Hi - a year or two back I did some comparisons between PVA and my normal
> >>> sizing of 3% food gelatin brushed on with formalin in a well-ventilated
> >>> room. I use Saunders Waterford HP or Fabriano Artistico traditional 
> >>> white
> >>> CP, and these tests were with 3-colour prints coated in the order Winsor
> >>> Yellow - WN Permanent Rose - Winsor Blue (green shade).
> >>>
> >>> The conclusions in my notebook were:
> >>>
> >>> PVA sizing is very quick and easy, and the paper curls less than with
> >>> gelatin.
> >>>
> >>> At full strength, the Gamblin PVA-sized paper was hard to coat evenly
> >>> with
> >>> gum/pigment - lots of fish-eyes and lots of brushing needed (with
> >>> gelatin,
> >>> the gum goes on with relatively little brushing). Clearing the gum coat
> >>> after exposure was almost too easy.
> >>>
> >>> With 1+1 dilution of the PVA, gum coats went on better. 1+2 was harder 
> >>> to
> >>> clear. Clearing was OK, but the final texture of the prints, viewed 
> >>> close
> >>> up, was noticeably less smooth with the PVA than with gelatin. The print
> >>> texture is "speckled" - maybe I did't coat the PVA well enough - but I
> >>> preferred the smoother final texture of the gelatin-sized print. Of
> >> course,
> >>> as Chris pointed out, PVA is a lot less hassle than coating with hot,
> >> smelly
> >>> gelatin!
> >>>
> >>> I'll give it another go - and next time I think I'll try Diana's 
> >>> approach
> >> of
> >>> sizing only after the first colour layer. What a great source of
> >> inspiration
> >>> this list is!
> >>>
> >>> Best wishes to you all
> >>>
> >>> Henry
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On 17/01/2012 14:08, "Peter Blackburn" <blackburnap at hotmail.com> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Fair enough, to each his or her own. I originally kept an iron around 
> >>>> as
> >> a
> >>>> "quick fix" to help flatten papers which exhibited too much curl and
> >> buckling.
> >>>>
> >>>> Peter J. Blackburn
> >>>>
> >>>>> From: dhbloomfield at bellsouth.net
> >>>>> To: alt-photo-process-list at lists.altphotolist.org
> >>>>> Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:51:52 -0500
> >>>>> Subject: [alt-photo] Re: sizing options for color gum
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Thanks, Peter.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I actually did all but #3 on your list.  Honestly, I don't even think
> >>>>> I own an iron (and don't plan on buying one any time soon).
> >>>>>
> >>>>> The final coat  (unsized) was actually fine; I certainly would have
> >>>>> had no problem exhibiting it.  In a side-by-side comparison, though, I
> >>>>> simply didn't like it as much as the one I made with a thin coating of
> >>>>> PVA, so -- as stated before-- I'll happily go back to using that.  My
> >>>>> preference is subjective, for sure; I could have shown it to someone
> >>>>> else, and he/she may have liked the other better.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> And I don't actually find using PVA a problem-- at all.  It's non-
> >>>>> toxic, relatively inexpensive, lasts forever, extraordinarily easy to
> >>>>> use, doesn't leave a shine when I apply it, and takes very little time
> >>>>> to apply (certainly less time than ironing-- though, at this point, I
> >>>>> can barely remember what ironing is like??).
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Thanks again.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Diana
> >>>>>
> >>>>> On Jan 17, 2012, at 8:35 AM, Peter Blackburn wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Just a brief follow up on this portion of Diana's comment,  "I know
> >>>>>> you're already aware of all this, and this isn't specifically
> >>>>>>> what you asked--  but I also recently printed an image on Fabriano
> >>>>>>> soft-press without sizing all, using what was only in the paper.  It
> >>>>>>> did really well, though I felt the third coat wasn't as "clean" as I
> >>>>>>> would have preferred-- so I just went back to using the PVA.  I just
> >>>>>>> know for sure, using that, that I won't have a problem." My
> >>>>>>> suggestions would be 1) be certain the chosen pigments are capable
> >>>>>>> of printing "clean" on out-of-the-package Fabriano if brilliant
> >>>>>>> highlights are desired. 2) be certain the paper is completely dry
> >>>>>>> between coats, and 3) before applying an additional coat, try
> >>>>>>> ironing the paper with the iron set on a midrange heat selection.
> >>>>>>> AKD is a type of synthetic wax which "melts" under heat. Ironing
> >>>>>>> the paper will restore a bit of smoothness while rejuvenating the
> >>>>>>> residing AKD in the paper.  Cheers everyone!
> >>>>>> Peter J. Blackburn
> >>>>>
> >>>>> _______________________________________________
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