It seems that we are quite a few trying to finally free our prints from the glass
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Mike,
Just search for videos on "Print shield" and all the other brands, and very helpful instructional videos will show up. Golden paint Web site has very good ones on their MSA varnish, both in spray and liquid (I have no relation what so ever to this brand, it just happens to be the only liquid print coating with an additional UV blocking effect available in Tel Aviv. I would very much like to be proven wrong on that one!). I learned it from those videos and from my experience with coating regular oil paintings on canvas. You will need to experiment with each paper and ink combination. In my experience there is no two papers alike. Some I find very easy, like the wonderful Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta. I simply can't do anything wrong with it (Just why must it be so incredibly expensive!?). Some are terribly difficult for me, like my favorite, the Canson Platine. The problem with the Canson Platine seams to be that it soaks up unevenly the coating liquid, like Golden MSA for example, when it is applied thickly as a first coating, creating little whole-like darker spots all over. When pre-coated lightly with any kind of varnish spray, I found that you do not need to use any particular brand, just do it lightly. After that sealing one might have to finish this sealing with a second light coat, that's what I have to do with the Platine. Then in the end, I apply with a roller, one or two very thick coats of MSA varnish, which exists in Gloss, Satin, and Mat and can be mixed to create any degree of gloss in between. While printing, I compensate for the general darkening of tones created by the gloss. In the future, as mentioned, I want to create a profile for that final result. Matt, on the other hand, makes everything lighter.
kind regards
nino