Just a thank-you - (coating success!!!)

So after getting sick of fighting with modern papers for Bromoil, I realized I needed to learn to coat paper with FOMA emulsion. I think I've essentially dialed it in, though I need to experiment with coating thickness. (My rod is a 15mm anodized aluminum rod from my pile of video rigging gear, with 7 wraps of 3M tape - when the matrix is soaked, it looks like a 3D roman coin, may be a bit thick). Man, it sure produces some monster Bromoil paper! First smooth test coating below, about 8x11" (pre-bleaching and inking, just the straight print). Now to move it up to 16x20, which I need very badly. Hot press paper order showing up today (I've been fixing out fogged paper and coating on the non-emulsion side - not optimal considering both sides of the paper are sticky when wet).

This forum, the monumental man that is PE, and the LightFarm pages have all been of great help! (Note on the image - this is 2 photos printed with masks, and some edges will need to be retouched or some masks fine-tuned - thus some odd white lines which aren't coating issues):

Wow! Congratulations!

That is really nice.

Back to the future with awesome results!

Holy crow well done!

Great work.
One of the processes I've been meaning to do. Have the chemistry just need to get motivated.

Thanks guys - I was pretty shocked how quickly I got a really nice coating (doing it on damp paper on glass). Just glad I don't have to make the emulsion, too!

I make Bromoils of these prints, and then photograph the prints 4x5, and print them on canvas with emulsion - then I tint the canavs with oil glazes and varnish them, it looks pretty cool. I've got an HVLP rig sitting here to experiment with coating the canvas; this one will be maybe 24x36", and I'd like to go bigger from there. Yeah, wife thinks I'm nuts. I cast the "window" in that shot with plaster, from a plaster mold, it's about 22" wide and the "wall" is about 3' wide, more plaster... my poor Mrs. is constantly like "what NOW?!?!??! ARE YOU GONNA CLEAN THIS UP?!?!?". But she's cool, I think she's glad I never took up golf.

if the brotherhood of the linked ring was still around you’d be in .. fantastic photography. Thanks for sharing. !

Lovely print! I am beyond delighted that wet paper coating worked for you. It's the only method I've used for years now. Works for every emulsion and paper type.
Denise @ TLF

jnantz said:

if the brotherhood of the linked ring was still around you’d be in .. fantastic photography. Thanks for sharing. !

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Thank you - it's gonna look really cool when it's bromoiled and tinted... been a huge learning curve with all the masking and whatnot.

dwross said:

Lovely print! I am beyond delighted that wet paper coating worked for you. It's the only method I've used for years now. Works for every emulsion and paper type.
Denise @ TLF

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Hey, thanks so much - the TLF pages were a big help, I still need to test coating thicknesses, and thinking of doing something like putting a damp towel in the freezer for a few minutes to get it cold (not frozen solid though!), and move the glass with the wet emulsion to it for a few minutes to see if the coating sets up a bit faster with no issues. I still need to try coating the paper with the edges folded up, but my local art store had no hot press paper so I've been using the back of fixed-out fiber paper, kind of a hassle as far as drying (with both sides sticky when wet!) My Blick order showed up today so hope to get some free time, waiting for a big sheet of mylar to get here to try larger sheets - 9x12" dura-lar is working fine for 8x10's though, and I use piles of that for masking.

Good luck and fun! I will love to see more examples of your results. One tip: If you are short on space and can't leave all the paper sitting on a large coating surface long enough for the emulsion to set up, consider purchasing several pieces of thick glass, cut a little larger than the paper you want to coat. After each sheet is coated, carefully stack the pieces of glass and their paper, with spacers between, or in a rack of some sort (keeping them flat). Easy way to handle the coated paper as little as necessary before the emulsion is set enough to hang to dry.
d

The quality of that print looks incredible Michael.

dwross said:

Good luck and fun! I will love to see more examples of your results. One tip: If you are short on space and can't leave all the paper sitting on a large coating surface long enough for the emulsion to set up, consider purchasing several pieces of thick glass, cut a little larger than the paper you want to coat. After each sheet is coated, carefully stack the pieces of glass and their paper, with spacers between, or in a rack of some sort (keeping them flat). Easy way to handle the coated paper as little as necessary before the emulsion is set enough to hang to dry.
d

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Thanks - I'm OK on space for now, but I've found the cold-towel trick is a real help; I put a damp towel in the freezer while the emulsion is melting, and stick it in a small cooler. After the paper is coated, I spread the towel out and rest the glass on it; the emulsion sets up very quickly, haven't seen any odd issues (uneven drying/etc). After that I take a bondo squeegie and cut the emulsion overlap from the paper edges and hang it.

Patrick Robert James said:

The quality of that print looks incredible Michael.

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Thanks, now I just need to get a good bromoil!!!