I am most interested to read that -- I'd always assumed that the reason to
pay $18 for a "Puddle Pusher" that could be made from 25 cents worth of
plastic rod and 3 drops of methylene chloride was because there must be
some kind of capillary action of the sensitizer along the glass that would
not occur along acrylic....
Am I now to understand from this and subsequent posts that you don't have
to have a *glass* rod to spread platinum emulsion? (I do not expect to
spread platinum emulsion ever again in this mortal coil, but you never
know when you need to know a thing like that ...)
> I've had these two sizes of rods for over ten years, my students use them
> every year for a two week period, and they've never been broken. But you
> are right, replacing them would be very difficult at this university and
> in these times of restraint and lack of expertise in glass blowing.
Adorable as they are, my students break glass... I do too of course, but
not as well...
However, this whole thread has me wondering just exactly what we do
accomplish by rodding the paper. I wonder if that doesn't just press the
gelatine further into the paper fibres, which could be as well done by
keeping the gelatine very liquid and soaking longer...
At present, haut practice seems to be to squeegee the paper well (the
two glass rods with elastic sounds like it might work best -- it's awfully
hard to keep good contact with tray edge, in glass, plastic, acrylic or
playdough) and then repeat process with a second gelatine bath. In other
words, get out the excess gelatine so you can put on another coat of
gelatine (which is *not* excess?).
In any event, I recommend just one coat of gelatine -- at most. Two in my
experience makes the paper too contrasty -- but then maybe I don't
squeegee enough!.
Judy