Spray vs Roll-on inkjet paper varnish

[texshooter]

Is there a good inkjet paper varnish that comes in a spray can. Or is the only way to varnish printer matte paper is the paint roller process?

[Randy Carone]

ClearStar and Hahnemuhle are two vendors who offer aerosol spray versions of their clear coatings. Be certain to spray in a well ventilated area as both are serious solvent sprays. Either use a good exhaust fan/spray booth or outside.

[louoates]

I would never advise using a spray can. I've tried that in the past with horrid results besides spray cans being very expensive. I found it impossible to get a consistant coating with a spray can on anything larger than a 16 x 20 canvas.

I do large panoramic canvasses usually at least 64" wide. I've got an electric sprayer that does good work but it's a hassle to set up and clean. I've settled on using a roller using Clear Shield Type C liquid: http://www.marabu-northamerica.com/products/product-overview/liquid-coatings.html

I haven't had much luck with the Breathing Color sealers or the Eco Print Shield products. I just finished rolling on two coats of Clear Shield onto 6 large canvasses within about one hour and I'm done. It was on the newer Epson Exhibition Canvas Matte that replaced the Premium WR Epson canvas and the sealer worked fine. The nice thing about Clear Shield is that didn't separate in the container as the other brands did. I used a quart container that sat for 5 months before I used it and had zero glop on the bottom. Just stir a bit and roll it on.

When rolling on sealer it's common that the first coat looks absolutely horrid until it's dry to the touch. Even then you'll see some roller marks where it deposited more or less product. Ignore that shock and roll on another coat after the 1st coat is dry to the touch. Here in Arizona that's about 15 minutes. In most cases that second coat will be all you need. For the anal amongst us a third coat may be needed after a similar drying time.

[Light Seeker]

I coat Canson Rag Photographique with a 50/50 mix of BC Timeless Gloss/Matte. I spray that on using an inexpensive Wagner HVLP. That mix roughly matches the uncoated Dmax of the paper. It gives it a bit of a sheen, but it's relatively subtle. Prints like this are then mounted on foamcore and go directly into a frame w/o glass.

I am experimenting with coating Canson Platine with Clearstar ClearJet A 2000. The level of gloss is almost identical and a bit of Platine's texture is supressed. I plan to do as above (mount on foamcore and frame w/o glass). Spraying from cans is indeed expensive, and you have to worry about toxic fumes. The Timeless solution above is not toxic.

Terry.