Varnishing Prints, Part I Back when Bob Tyson brought up the idea of varnishing Piezo prints using alternative coatings, that is using coatings such as furniture finishes that were not intended to be used as art varnishes, I went to the local art store to check out the selection of non-alternative (double negative??) or art coatings. At the time I promised to give some of these a try when I got back from vacation. I had hoped that between Bob's work and what Robert Morrison was doing I was off the hook. In any case, I have started forward and will post updates as I go along rather than trying to report everything at the end. I am going to simply give the information in roughly the order things occurred. Some general thoughts on the subject. As Bob Tyson aptly put it, "This isn't rocket science." nor is it new science. Photographers have been varnishing their photos from just about day one but tapered off when the silver gelatin on clay coated papers took over the market. Both the air-dried and the ferrotyped finishes were popular and varnishing photos largely died out except for a small number including Paul Strand. (Bob, you have much more art and photo history than I, so if I err in this area or you have additional info please jump in.) A lot of these varnished photos are still around and in good shape so I don't believe that archival issues should be too concerning. (I have some 30-year-old photos that were sprayed with Krylon that are still fine.) Given the advances in polymer technology, the materials available today should be superior to what was used on photographs 100 years ago. The traditional art varnishes are made from plant resins dissolved in solvents and oils. The most common ones are mastic, copal, and dammar for oil painting and, acrylic for acrylic paintings (although some artists use acrylic to varnish their oils). I decided to not try the mastic, copal and dammar varnishes, as they are known to either start out yellow or turn yellow within 50 years. Dammar seems to be considered the best of the three starting clear but yellowing eventually. If you are wondering why oil painters knowingly use yellowing varnishes on their paintings the answer is that the varnish can be removed and a fresh coat applied. This isn't an option for Piezo prints. I also decided to limit myself to brush application at this time. The canned sprays I have tried did not seem to have any effect on the appearance of the surface or the Dmax. I think they simply apply a coating that is too thin and dries to quickly to smooth out. Although they do provide some mechanical and UV protection. First attempts: In anticipation of Robert publishing his work and some of his early posts I had gotten the two Golden acrylic varnishes he mentioned, the water soluble and the MSA solvent based both in gloss. I also got the DaVinci #50 varnish brushes he mentioned. I found the water soluble Golden and the brushes at Dick Blick Art Materials (http://www.dickblick.com/) The Golden solvent based varnish I bought locally at University Art Supplies. I did note that Rex Art (http://www.rexart.com) does carry the Golden solvent based. I also obtained a third coating based on a post by Marty Connelly(?) who had mentioned using an aerosol product ClearJet . I checked out the web site and found that they sell this in quarts and gallons and also make a water based version called ClearSheild. These are vinyl coatings that are sold to sign makers as a coating for inkjet printed signs and banners used in outdoor displays. I chose the water based ClearSheild in gloss. (NOTE: If you order some of these items over the Internet or by phone you will run into some shipping limitations. Hazardous materials are either not accepted for air shipment or only at a higher charge. Even ground shipments sometimes involve a "handling fee." This is not just the solvent-based products. An 8 oz. bottle of Golden water based varnish was considered hazardous.) Last week I made identical prints on Lumijet Classic Velour (aka Hahnemuhle German Etching, Lyson Standard Fine Art, Orwell), Wells River (aka Hahnemulhe William Turner 190 gsm), Kodak Ultima Satin and ConeTech Matte (aka Hahnemulhe Photo Matte). All on 8.5 X 11 paper. On Saturday I made the first try. I needed something to tape the prints to so I took three empty cardboard boxes. Opened the top and bottom and cut one corner. I taped four sheets to the inside surface of the flattened box and laid it out on my deck (which would greatly benefit from some spilled varnish). My working quarters are rather small and while I could coat a print or two inside a large number would be impossible. Trial #1 I started with the ClearSheild Gloss. The directions said to use it undiluted straight from the can. I applied two coats to a print on Wells River and 1, 2 and 3 coats to three prints on Lumijet Classic Velour. I let the prints dry about 1 hour between coats. While the prints were drying I picked up the flattened cardboard box and stood it on edge in its original box shape to help protect the coated prints from dust. First mistake. Undiluted may be fine on the vinyl substrate the manufacturer had in mind but on paper not a good idea. The absorbent paper soaked up the thick, undiluted coating unevenly. This resulted in some slight mottling in smooth toned areas of the prints. This also resulted in an uneven gloss on the first coat. Second mistake. While being careful about runs or puddles on the print area I didn't check the edges of the print or the backing cardboard so when I stood the cardboard on edge I got a few runs down a couple of the prints and some behind a print gluing it to the cardboard. Impressions/Conclusions: Wow when you put that coating on and it is wet, it is like looking at a silver print in a tray of water! Dry down to reality. The ClearSheild Gloss gives a new definition to gloss. Man this stuff shines like an RC glossy. Like a lamination only brighter. However the total result is not smooth like a RC print. The paper has texture, there are signs of residual brush strokes and small bumps from tiny air bubbles that did not fully release from the coating before it dried. On the 1 and 2 coat prints there is some variation in the gloss. It appears that if you do not get a nice smooth, even coat on the very first coat, the imperfections carry through into the next coat or two. Dmax is greatly improved as expected. I think that ClearSheild Gloss is way too glossy for my tastes. With the super high gloss, light reflects from the many small surface bumps. It is hard to find a viewing angle that doesn't show some sparkle points. The Wells River, being a smoother paper was much better in this regard. I did not observe any buckling in either the Wells River or the Lumijet Classic Velour. Both took on more curl but look like they would flatten out under a standard window mat. They are much flatter than an air-dried silver gelatin print. However, now that they are coated I doubt they could be dry mounted. Wet mounting should be feasible if required or desired. As Antonis pointed out, these do not look like sliver prints. The finish looks very similar to the surface of my mother's varnished oil paintings on canvas, which show the variation in paint thickness, brush strokes and the underlying canvas texture. This is not going to be to everyone's taste. I showed my wife a coated and uncoated print and her reaction was that she liked them both. I sort of shared that feeling but as a former silver printer that extra Dmax is attractive. Trial #2 For this I used the Golden water-soluble acrylic varnish. Once again I used 1 print on Wells River (3 coats) and 3 on Lumijet Classic Velour (with 3, 4 and 5 coats). I diluted the varnish with water as directed on the bottle adding approximately 1 part water to 2 parts varnish (Note: In the varnish world this is considered a 50% dilution). This was more than the 20 to 40% recommended but I assumed the recommendation was for a painted surface. First Mistake: Similar to trial #1. The coating was still too thick and did not spread out nicely on the first coat. Coverage was better than with the undiluted ClearSheild but the first coat dried with an uneven gloss indicating uneven application. Second Mistake: Same as in trial #1. I did them at the same time and had not yet noticed the run problem. Impressions/Conclusions: The Golden is not as glossy as the ClearSheild and leveled better giving a nicer finish at 3 and 4 coats. At 5 coats the gloss is starting to get close to the ClearSheild gloss level. Once again the Wells River with its smoother surface had fewer spectacular reflections. Small bumps from tiny unreleased air bubbles was a problem with the Golden too but not as bad as the ClearSheild. Again great Dmax improvement. Trial #3 Just as an experiment I tried brushing an undiluted coat of ClearSheild on a print on Kodak Ultima Satin. As expected the print smeared but very slightly. I was surprised how little. Here the brush marks are very obvious. Looking past these flaws the thick coating really put the paper solidly into silver gelatin territory in my opinion. Although RC rather than fiber. If you like this paper, I would recommend pursuing this with a satin finish coating and an airbrush application perhaps. Trial #4 This was with the ClearSheild using a 1 to 2 dilution on a print on Wells River and one on ConeTech Matte. The first coat went more smoothly than trial #1 and the final result on the Wells River was better but still too glossy. The ConeTech Matte is too light and buckled up badly. Also the brush marks are more noticeable on the smoother surface. It would need to be mounted before coating. Trial #5 This was with the solvent based Golden acrylic varnish MSA. There were literally no instructions on the can at all. Checking their website I found a wealth of information on their products and on varnishing in general. A must read if you are interested in this. http://www.goldenpaints.com/ http://www.goldenpaints.com/varns.htm One of the first things I found was that the odorless paint thinner I had been sold to dilute this varnish was not appropriate. In fact they only recommend thinner is extra distilled or refined turpentine to prevent let down shock (thickening or lumping). Unfortunately that is not readily available. I made one attempt to put a single undiluted coat on a print on Lumijet Classic Velour without much success. After going through the material on Golden's website I reached some conclusions. The Golden MSA solvent varnish is probably really great. For starters, all the HALS and UV absorbers that Jon Cone was talking about are already in the varnish. In general, solvent varnishes will level better and have fewer problems with foaming and bubble release. In addition solvent system polymers are generally stronger and more durable. The Golden MSA probably offers really great protection. I also concluded that this really isn't a workable system for me and probably not for many other users. You need to have a very large working space and be willing to devote the time required. Golden recommends 4 brush coats or 8 spray coats for best protection. Since 4 to 6 hours of drying time is required between coats and a final curing time of several days after the last coat before stacking, the process will really stretch out. Also, this is a solvent based coating that needs to be done and allowed to dry in a space separate from where you work or live and in a manner that does not present a fire or health hazard. In addition commercial use in may urban area will require air pollution permits and/or abatement. I intend to pursue this on at least a couple of prints so that I have the comparison point. I am in sunny California and I can leave them outside over night. Other than that I will be pursuing only the water based materials that dry more quickly and will allow me to work inside once the rainy season arrives. Some overall conclusions at this point: While I need to work on my brush technique for that critical first coat, I suspect that brushed on coatings will always be somewhat uneven. This may be good or bad depending upon your artistic taste. We are used to seeing photographs that have very uniform surfaces. The brushed on coatings so far add a bit of a hands-on look. I think that some unevenness is probably okay and would be down played under glass. Which reminds me that someone suggested that the coated prints could be framed and displayed without glass. I don't think that this would be a good idea as some of the coatings are not all that tough and your matting would not last. One item I gleaned from the Golden information is that their varnishes are designed to be removable. In the painting conservation world the ability to remove an old coat of varnish along with accumulated dirt is essential. To make the varnishes removable they have essentially not designed them for maximum toughness. Something to keep in mind. Another piece of information was that polyurethanes are the toughest polymers available but were not considered for painting varnishes because they do not pass the test of being removable. Also the more common aromatic polyurethanes yellow but the aliphatic ones do not. Since there is no possibility of removing at least the first coat of varnish from a Piezo print as it sinks into the paper I will try a polyurethane in my next set of trials. I picked up a can of Varathane Diamond Wood Finish Exterior Semi gloss at Home Depot. I contacted Varathane and they confirmed that it was an aliphatic polyurethane and would not yellow. I chose the Exterior as it is advertised as having UV blockers and being more flexible during extreme temperature changes. I am also thinking of a better way to get the first coat on the paper to even out the final result. The possibilities are silkscreen, airbrush or draw down rod. I have a bit of experience with silkscreen and it offers the chance to make a heavy first coat. Airbrush I have no experience with and might be hard to use at the dinning room table. Draw down rods I only know as something used to spread chemicals during platinum printing, something I have not tried. So at this point the next set of trials will be the vinyl ClearSheild in semi-gloss, the acrylic Golden water based (maybe in semi-gloss) and the polyurethane Varathane in semi gloss. Currently waiting for a paper shipment and some free time. All comments and suggestions welcome. Martin Wesley