Re: Coating Rods
Sal Mancini (sal@www.napc.com)
Wed, 02 Apr 1997 11:25:56 -0500
Tom Ferguson wrote:
>
> I tryed the "Puddle Pusher" first in 4x5 (loved it), then 8x10 (loved it),
> and finally in 11x14 (hate it). The smaller rods gave me even, easy
> coating and only used about 70% as much chemical. I've been using them for
> platinum on Cranes Platinotype paper and "New Cyanotype" on Cranes
> Parchmont.
>
> When I bought the 11x14 model, I get uneven coating, occational paperbase
> spots, and have to apply a lot of pressure to have any hope at all. I pour
> out a line of chemicals just out of my target "area", drop the rod into
> this line of chemicals, wiggle it accross the line slightly (to evenly
> spread the chemicals accross the rod), then pull it down accross the
> "area", lift up the rod and reverse the motion up the paper, then repat a
> few more times. Rod seems strait, the base I'm coating on is even enough.
> I notice that this is the biggest "Puddle Pusher" made. Is this simply the
> upper limit of this technique, or is there something I'm doing wrong?
>
> tomf2468@pipeline.com
It stikes me that the cause of your uneven coating may be related to
the speed at which you spread the sensitizer. This speed will vary
from paper to paper. It has been my experience that a slower travel
time across the surface of the paper will reduce these spots. The
other problem may be how many times you pass the glass rod over it. 2
or 3 times is the maximum before you start getting abrasion. I have
found the parhcmont to be particularly susceptible to abrasion. Maybe
you are using too much pressure.
Sal Mancini