Oil Coated FB Matte Paper

[samcomet]

I know that this was covered in a previous thread about adding some gloss to matte FB paper (ferrotype and varnish) but the thread was about 10 years old so I thought I would start a new one. Forgive me.

Being in Sydney and in lockdown I have had a chance to read the Zone VI Newsletters a member here has posted some while ago. I came upon and interesting idea that has obviously been around for quite awhile but it was a new one on me (page 905 of 969 or page 8 of the #78 June 1994 edition).

I generally print on Foma FB Matte MG which I find suits my purposes well but being in lockdown I cannot go wandering about town making new photographs. Instead I revisited some of my "also rans" that were not quite up to scratch. Using the mixture, as stated by Fred Picker, of Stand Oil (linseed) and artists' turps (2 tablespoons oil to 8 oz. turps), I've been coating some of these prints and got fantastic results in my high key images. The blacks really pop out and the highlights seem to be unaffected. There is an added sheen from the mixture which is really nice too. I apply the mixture with a sable brush, wait over night and then gently "mop" up the coating with tissue leaving the nice look. I am not sure about the archival-ness of the turps + oil on the prints but instead of hiding them away as works-in-progress, they really do look nice enough to stand on their own. It's quite close to the non-dry down effect or rather the look in a final wash before drying.

At any rate this project is keeping me off the streets for the time being Cheers all!
Sam

 

[AgX]

Why oil? My first thought would have been wax.

 

[samcomet]

Hiya AgX - I actually tried wax a long while ago. But the results were "cloudy" to a degree while the oil is crystal clear and sharp. FWIW. Hope you're doing ok over there on the continent. cheers!

 

[AgX]

Well, as you use lineseed oil and as the terpentine is only a volatile solvent, the oil will cure in months anyway.

 

[samcomet]

I take your point but the manufacturer says: "Stand Oil decreases the tendency of oil colours to retain brushmarks, meaning that your paints level as they dry. Slightly thicker than regular Linseed oil, it makes an excellent painting or glazing medium when thinned with dammar varnish and turpentine, the more so because (unlike refined Linseed oil) it is resistant to yellowing." We shall see over time I guess................

 

[AgX]

Yellowing is resulting from UV radiation, not from curing, I assume.

 

[samcomet]

I guess that keping the prints out of the sunlight should mitigate that factor......

 

[gone]

Bad idea. The oil will probably soak/eat your paper's coating. This is why painter's gesso their canvas, to protect them from the oil in the paints as well as additional oils the painter may add to the mix. It will also darken over time.

 

[pentaxuser]

Does the coating soak into the paper so that say 24 hours later it is dry(or at least relatively so) to the touch but still appears glossy? It sounds good so far.

A scan of the current print and that same one in, say, 6 months might be interesting. If the effect remains and no apparent harm comes to the paper then this might be a useful tool for others who wish to get the same effect

pentaxuser

 

[samcomet]

@momus - I scanned as many of Picker's books and writings as I could find with no mention of the oil being a long term problem. This does not mean it wasn't, but it was not immediately evident and hence no recanting from our Fred. I thought gesso was used for sizing the canvas - paint it on and as it dries it shrinks the canvas tighter to the wooden frame. Happy to be mistaken on this though.

@pentaxuser - In the setup I used I started with 2 NG prints and oiled one half of each to test Picker's ideas. So I have a "control" half and an oiled half of both. I'll wait several months to see what happens.......

Thanks all for your comments too.
cheers!

 

[Patrick Robert James]

What you are describing is lithographer's varnish. Lots of old school photographers used it. Steichen even did IIRC. Stand oil isn't really an oil. It is more like a polymer. Oil paintings have been done with it for hundreds of years. It will probably yellow over time but you'll be long dead, as will your kids and their kids. I wouldn't worry about it. If you want something reversible, use wax with a thinner like turpentine. When it is dry you can buff it to a pretty good shine.

You are way over doing the amount you are using if you are using a brush and have to wipe it off. Just use a cotton bud or a rag and apply only a little of the lithographer's varnish. You just need the lightest coating for it to work the way you want. Don't over complicate it.

Hope that helps.

 

[AgX]

Stand oil is basically a vegetabile oil of the sort of line-seed oil (or similar oil), that already has been treated at the manufacturer to make it polymerize a bit.
Thus the natural polymerisation has been accelerated, may be even to a point beyond the natural one.

 

[samcomet]

Patrick - thanks for the info. In fact I re-read Picker's description of his process and he too describes application using a cotton bud. I guess that I should get meself a couple of packets! I like the idea of "not complicating" this too. I've researched Lithographer's Varnish and there are plenty of "grades" of LV out there which in itself complicates things but then again I've got plenty of time in lockdown to explore. I appreciate you adding to my list of things-to-do! No kidding.

AgX - Thanks yet again for your 2 cents. Hoping things in Germany are looking up.....!
cheers to the both of you!

 

[AgX]

Stand oil is basically a vegetabile oil of the sort of line-seed oil (or similar oil), that already has been treated at the manufacturer to make it polymerize a bit.
Thus the natural polymerisation has been accelerated, may be even to a point beyond the natural one.

This is just what the first commercial varnish-makers did.

 

[Ulophot]

I'd have to check my Picker newsletters, but I think the OP is referring to a guest column, so to speak, by the later Walter Rosenblum, Strand's best friend, and husband of Naomi Rosenblum, the author of A Workd history of Photography and other books. Walter taught me the same process, which I use on Ilford WT FB semi-matte, but he wrote that he applied the varnish with a cotton ball adn immediately wiped it off with fresh cotton balls, leaving a microscopic layer, which provides the range-increasing sheen.

 

[Paul Howell]

In the 50s and 60s waxing and varnishing prints was common in the salon exhibition scene. Many older how to books of the period usually provided instruction for one or the other sometimes both.