spotting an edge? seeking tips

I pulled 4 prints out of the wash and noticed that one of the edges has a teeny tiny fleck. I examined my easel and found a little piece of dust that must have been blocking the light. The edge is paper black with a tiny white speck out of it. I am trying figure out how to fill that in with out making things worse. Some thoughts were to gently place a razor on the edge then apply spot tone, but I suspect the spot tone may bleed out over the edge. Any ideas? Thanks!

Sean,

Without seeing the size of the speck that you speak of, it is difficult to say.

What I would say is that with a 4/0 brush and the brush being nearly dry when applying the Spotone then I don't understand why the "bleed" concern is even raised.

I'll try that Donald, I have a few work prints I can practise on, thanks

General spotting tips:

Use a really bright light in the workroom. The more, the better.

I've always preferred a larger diameter brush because I can make a finer point with it.

Sable, of course.

Put a few drops of slightly diluted Spot-Tone in a dish and let it dry. Then, use a very slightly damp brush tip to pick up the barest amount of dye, and test on a scrap print. You should easily be able to take out the offending dust speck... it will disappear before you think you've actually touched the print surface !

.

Sean said:

I pulled 4 prints out of the wash and noticed that one of the edges has a teeny tiny fleck. I examined my easel and found a little piece of dust that must have been blocking the light. The edge is paper black with a tiny white speck out of it. I am trying figure out how to fill that in with out making things worse. Some thoughts were to gently place a razor on the edge then apply spot tone, but I suspect the spot tone may bleed out over the edge. Any ideas? Thanks!

Click to expand...

Sean, I'll give you some spotting basics, although you probably all ready know them. First put some small drops of spottone on a dish and break it up into smaller drops and smudges and allow it to dry. After it's dried, use the tiniest brush you can get, 0000 is probably the smallest you'll find. Moisten the brush slightly with water, then roll the wet brush in a dried splotch of spottone that matches the tonality of the spot you want to eliminate. The key is to make the brush as dry as possible, to wipe away as much liquid as you can so that a nearly dry brush is used to apply the dye. A brush that is dry will not bleed over the edge. It will stay where you put it. You will need to make small gentle dots with the brush until the spot is gone. Be patient, slower is better than faster. An almost dry brush is the key. If you can make droplets on the print with it, it is too wet.

The advice given is exactly correct. I use my left thumb nail for my final mixing pallet and saliva to moisten the brush tip. Since I have not been diagnosed with anything contagious I feel that the world is safe from my contamination. Practice is the key! when you have it down pat, more practice is even better.

Sean said:

... The edge is paper black with a tiny white speck out of it. ... !

Click to expand...

Yes, you are correct ... using the razor blade. You must be very careful to only scrape the emulsion off. I've not been very successful using this technique. It often come out with a "scraped" look. But if its small ...