I made a print which I wanted to wax myself for the first time. It went horribly wrong, and while trying to remove the wax I made a stain in the darkest areas by rubbing it with the cloth. I could simply make another print, but it was a nice print and I wanted to try to save it and experiment with it, because if I destroy it even further, I wouldn't care so much.
So, first I washed the print in a running water, and let ti dry, to remove all the particles from the cloth, because I was really rubbing it hard, and under the loupe you could see millions of white dots all over the print.
Then I coated the paper with the same solution again over the existing image. At first it resisted because of the remaining wax, but at the end it was coated nice and evenly. I placed the same negative to match the previous image as much as I could, using only my eyes, and no other registration marks. Although the paper shrinked about 1/16th of an inch, I managed to place it so that the most important parts are registered perfectly. And I exposed it again for some guesstimated time. I wanted just to darken the shadows a bit to cover the damaged area, so I didn't expose it full time as I did for the initial print.
The results: the damaged area was better. The stains weren't noticeable as much as before second exposure, but the highlights bleached as much as the shadows darkened. I don't mind, it still looks ok, but I'm curious to learn what caused that.
At the end I spotted few areas and the print turned out beautifully. Even richer than it was after the first coat. But I'd still love to have the tone in the highlights.
Here's the chemistry I used:
Coating:
- 1-2 drops of Tween 20 10% (helps the emulsion soak into the paper evenly and quickly)
- Ferric Oxalate Solution #1
- Palladium Solution #3 + Sodium Platinum Solution (Na2) 5% (mixed together at 20:1 ratio, palladium 25ml, platinum 1.25ml)
Development and clearing:
1. Potassium Oxalate: 3 min
2. Water + a tbsp of Citric Acid: 1 min
3. Sodium bisulfite: 10 min
4. EDTA Tetrasodium: 10 min
5. Running water: 20-25 min
The paper is Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag.
So, first I washed the print in a running water, and let ti dry, to remove all the particles from the cloth, because I was really rubbing it hard, and under the loupe you could see millions of white dots all over the print.
Then I coated the paper with the same solution again over the existing image. At first it resisted because of the remaining wax, but at the end it was coated nice and evenly. I placed the same negative to match the previous image as much as I could, using only my eyes, and no other registration marks. Although the paper shrinked about 1/16th of an inch, I managed to place it so that the most important parts are registered perfectly. And I exposed it again for some guesstimated time. I wanted just to darken the shadows a bit to cover the damaged area, so I didn't expose it full time as I did for the initial print.
The results: the damaged area was better. The stains weren't noticeable as much as before second exposure, but the highlights bleached as much as the shadows darkened. I don't mind, it still looks ok, but I'm curious to learn what caused that.
At the end I spotted few areas and the print turned out beautifully. Even richer than it was after the first coat. But I'd still love to have the tone in the highlights.
Here's the chemistry I used:
Coating:
- 1-2 drops of Tween 20 10% (helps the emulsion soak into the paper evenly and quickly)
- Ferric Oxalate Solution #1
- Palladium Solution #3 + Sodium Platinum Solution (Na2) 5% (mixed together at 20:1 ratio, palladium 25ml, platinum 1.25ml)
Development and clearing:
1. Potassium Oxalate: 3 min
2. Water + a tbsp of Citric Acid: 1 min
3. Sodium bisulfite: 10 min
4. EDTA Tetrasodium: 10 min
5. Running water: 20-25 min
The paper is Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag.
