<paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> Yes, I would like to know the details. I've started experimenting
with the
> Epson Archival pigments, including Luster paper...
OK, here goes:
I went out and got a 24 inch X 36 inch cork bulletin board at the
local discount warehouse --"Costco" out here-- for about 10 bucks.
This is laid flat on my work table and is used to pin the print down
when spraying. I pin the photo down using "T" pins available at hobby
shops. I pin down all four corners but really its not necessary
because RC paper doesn't curl up when wet. I dust off the print
gently with a drafter's brush just before spraying with ImageShield.
Lumijet ImageShield comes in a 14 oz. spraycan that I got at the
local camera store. The nice thing about ImageShield is that its not
a "critical" coating. That is, its a pretty foolproof and forgiving
media. When sprayed on EEM, for example, you can hardly tell its been
coated. Its primary purpose is to seal the surface of an inkjet
print. The key to using ImageShield is LIGHT coats, very light coats.
Follow the directions on the can and at first spray less than you
think is necessary. I use two coats, the first coat sprayed in an up
and down direction and the second coat in a left to right direction.
This stuff drys really fast and I only wait a few minutes between
coats. Pigment ink lays on top of the surface of the paper and if you
have a segment of your print with high contrast between black and
white the pigment actually acts as a microscopic raised dam and a
thick coating will pile up against the dam and create a ridge line.
This is why you use light coats. As I mentioned in my original post,
this easy step just got rid of about 90 percent of surface sheen
irregularities and you could stop here if you're not too picky. BTW,
ImageShield is "stinky" (Dimethyl Ether and Butyl Acetate along with
isopropyl alchohol) and you need a ventilated room and/or a
respirator, fortunately you don't need to spray much of it. Sometimes
I just hold the print in my hand and go out and spray it in the
garage, its that easy.
Now for you perfectionists the next step is to airbrush on some
Hydrocote. Here's how I do it after the ImageShield has dried about
an hour: I use a one quarter inch diameter corrosion free aluminum
rod I had laying around the house to stir the Hydrocote. I use metal
because its easy to wipe off and I don't have to worry about slivers
of wood getting in the Hydrocote. Satin finish has some pretty tough
solids laying on the bottom of the container that need to be gently
stirred into solution. I don't use a coating rod because I don't need
a really thick coating. Instead I use an airbrush. I suppose which
airbrush you use is up to you because after all, you're not going for
a hairline pattern here but instead you're going for wide strokes.
Personally I use an internal mix double action Iwata Eclipse HP-BCS
bottom feed airbrush for this. Iwata airbrushes are all I use
anymore, once you use one you'll never go back, but again, I think
even a "cheapy" will work fine for this application. The Eclipse can
spray a pattern up to two inches wide. Iwata also makes a W100
airbrush/spraygun that can spray a pattern up to 4 inches wide but
its very expensive. The nice thing about an airbrush is that you can
keep the print horizontal and spray straight down on it using
relatively low air pressure, this prevents runs. I draw the Hydrocote
out of its container using a syringe keeping the jar open for as
short a time as possible to prevent dust contamination (I got this
idea from one of your posts, thank you). Then I fill a 1 OZ. airbrush
jar half way full of Hydrocote Polyshield Satin. I add distilled
water for thinning until the jar is about five-eighths full and then
add 10 drops of Hydrocote Fish-Eye/Flow Ayd and gently stir with a
toothpick. Optionally I put a filter in the airbush pickup tube just
to make absolutely sure no tiny solids will cause the airbrush
to "spit". I also filter the air line from the compressor.
Now before I start spraying I take an empty 1 OZ. airbrush bottle and
put a few drops of dishwashing liquid in it then fill with hot water.
This will be used to clean the airbrush immediately after I'm done
spraying. I also get a hair dryer and plug it in next to the work
table (again, another great idea from you). Okay, now I'm just about
ready to spray. I dial up the air pressure to 35 psi and before I
attach the bottle to the airbrush I brush the print again gently with
a drafter's brush then use the airbrush to blow off the surface and
surrounding area. Then I attach the bottle to the airbrush and test
the spray pattern on a piece of typing paper first. When all is well
I spray at 35 psi and keep the airbrush moving left, right, up, down
until I see the surface starting to get "wet", that is, the Hydrocote
has filled the surface and is starting to "puddle". This won't take
long because remember, the surface was already sealed with
ImageShield. As soon as I see this I dial the air pressure down to
about 20 psi and gently spray until the surface is completely wet to
the point where if the print weren't horizontal the coating would
obviously run. I then put aside the airbrush and immediately use the
hair dryer to dry the surface until dust won't stick to it. Now I
remove the bottle with Hydrocote in it from the airbrush and replace
it with the detergent/water mix. I dial the air pressure up to 50 psi
and run about half the bottle through the airbrush to clean it. I
then take the syphon cap off the airbrush bottle with the Hydrocote
in it and replace it with a conventional cap, then I take the syphon
cap and syringe to the sink and run hot water through them for
cleaning. Its important that you do this before the Hydrocote dries --
it makes life much easier. That's it. I don't do anything with the
cork surface for cleaning -- built up Hydrocote does no harm to the
process. I gently unpin the print from the cork surface and hang it
vertically for final drying.
The above sounds complicated but I can coat a print in minutes. The
result is a print surface indistinguishable from a dye print. Its
easy once you do it. Another advantage of the airbrush technique is
it doesn't matter what size the print is. The process works the same
on a 4 by 6 print as a 24 by 36 print. The down side is you need an
airbrush and a compressor plus there's an airbrush learning curve.
And of course dust is the evil enemy, but that's the case with all
home coating processes.