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Author Topic: Spray Lacquers and other Top Coats  (Read 2059 times)

Remo Nonaz

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Spray Lacquers and other Top Coats
« on: September 22, 2012, 09:45:09 pm »

I have an opportunity to sell a couple of prints and I want to protect them from fading. I have not used top coatings before, but read through several threads here and in other forums; they seem like a good idea.

Not having done this before, I took some proofs and sprayed them with Papilio LLA50000 UV coating, which I happened to have on hand. The paper was Red River Arctic Polar Gloss.   This seems to work pretty well, but I am seeing some blotchiness in places though I did use two good coats. Also there are a number of dust spots. I don't know if this is an issue with the product or with my skills in top coating.

What is the general consensus on using these products? They certainly aren't cheap. What are the best techniques to get good results?

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framah

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Re: Spray Lacquers and other Top Coats
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2012, 09:51:24 am »

It's your skills in spraying.
Practice on junk pieces a few times to get the hang of starting and stopping the spray and how much overlap works without making it too heavy.
The dust spots is purely your problem in where you are doing the spraying.


Personally, i hate spraying and don't do it.
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Ernst Dinkla

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Re: Spray Lacquers and other Top Coats
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2012, 10:01:24 am »

While I doubt that the varnish will block much UV light when the coating layer is thin it might help to reduce the gas fading (oxidising) of the OBAs. The paper you mention is full of OBA. It might be a better idea to start with a paper that has a moderate amount of them, say the Canon Heavyweight Glossy or Satin Photographic that shows less fade issues and put just one layer of varnish on top. It will not reduce the OBA effect you obviously want and might be enough to reduce gas fading of OBA and inks.

Yes, this all is not so well tested as needed. Most varnish tests have been done on Fiber/Baryta papers and not on RC papers.

I discovered something else when I sprayed two varnish types on an polyethylene foil so I could compare their skin forming (transparency, hardness etc) when the dried layers were pulled from the PE. Both acrylic varnishes but one with a white spirit solvent that evaporated slowly. The white spirit most likely was absorbed by the PE as it expanded and the surface was no longer flat. I would expect similar behaviour of the PE barriers in RC paper. The other varnish dried quicker and had not that effect. The white spirit one has been good on matte art papers in my experience as it does not affect the image. Horses for courses.

An anti-static brush remains a good tool in this business. Keeping humidity high in the spraying area helps too.

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dgberg

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Re: Spray Lacquers and other Top Coats
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2012, 10:46:31 am »

How these images will be sold will answer alot of questions.
If you are mounting the images under glass or plexi I would skip the spray process entirely.
If you are selling only unmounted prints I would still skip the spray process as most folks will take them to a framer for matting,glazing and framing.
A topcoat finish is a necessity for canvas,roll or spray.
A spray topcoat can be used for other fine art and rc papers that you know will be mounted without glazing.
If you want to spray fine art and rc papers you should see an improved dmax,protection when handling and some uv protection.
You may not eliminate all the dust particles in your print but standing the prints up or hanging them for spraying will keep most of the airborn particles from settling on the print.
As Framah stats spraying is an art and you just have to practice.
Clearstar 2000 FA a solvent finish is good for small projects,its just expensive.
With two medium coats it takes about 1 oz. of product for 1 sq. ft. of print.
At $12.95 a can thats around $1.00 a sq. ft. As much or more then your paper costs.
Use it if you think you need it. I rarely do.

Remo Nonaz

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Re: Spray Lacquers and other Top Coats
« Reply #4 on: September 24, 2012, 08:45:29 am »

Thank you for your input. My take away is that I should forget about the top coating. However, I'm also picking up that Red River Arctic Polar Gloss may fade faster than other papers. Is this accurate? If so, what gloss papers would you recommend for good image longevity? I normally print on 11x17 paper and noted that Canon Heavy Weight Glossy seems to only come in rolls.
« Last Edit: September 24, 2012, 09:24:14 am by Remo Nonaz »
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I really enjoy using old primes on my m4/3 camera. There's something about having to choose your aperture and actually focusing your camera that makes it so much more like... like... PHOTOGRAPHY!

Ernst Dinkla

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Re: Spray Lacquers and other Top Coats
« Reply #5 on: September 24, 2012, 10:53:21 am »

See the test results of www.aardenburg-imaging.com. For glossy RC papers you could use one of the high scoring Kodak or Epson papers, they will be available in sheets.


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Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

340+ paper white spectral plots:
http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
update july 2012: Moab changes, paper sorting by name
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