Varnish coating for dry plates?

I've seen reference to a "varnish", but haven't had much luck determining what varnish was used for coating and protecting the emulsion of developed dry plate negatives.

Any ideas of what it was? Shellac, perhaps?

-Jason

search for varnishing WET plates from what i have read it is the same thing, at least wtih collodion dry plates.

I'm actually doing silver emulsion plates, so I'm not sure if it's the same result. Although it's a fair bet that similar materials as for collodion would have been used.

Funnily enough, if I google varnishing dry plates this thread is one of the top pages on the search list.

One of the others is the site here:

http://www.graphicsatlas.org/identification/?process_id=303

Which indicates varnishing silver emulsion dry plates kind of went away after ~1890, and were only sometimes varnished prior.

Ansel Adams gives a recipe for a varnish for prints in the Frist Edition of The Print. It is made from diluted lithographers varnish. Check with a store that sells art supplies.

Nodda Duma said:

I'm actually doing silver emulsion plates, so I'm not sure if it's the same result. Although it's a fair bet that similar materials as for collodion would have been used.

Funnily enough, if I google varnishing dry plates this thread is one of the top pages on the search list.

One of the others is the site here:

http://www.graphicsatlas.org/identification/?process_id=303

Which indicates varnishing silver emulsion dry plates kind of went away after ~1890, and were only sometimes varnished prior.

Click to expand...

i read that too, and had never heard of varnishing or shellacing dry plates ..
maybe in the 1890s was when harderner was discovered and it made varnishing obsolete.
from personal experience even a contact print from a plates coated with something
no matter how careful i was putting the coat on, a layer of texture shows up on the print ..
and i am guessing this isn't the sort of look you are trying to achieve.
i wasn't using this stuff though: http://collodionbastards.org/usb/
maybe that's what you need, although heating up a dry plate might not be so good for gelatin


you might contact the folks at rockland colloid who make silver emulsion and sell it commercially ( and ferrotype/tintype kits too )
and ask what they suggest as a protective layer ... they respond to emails fast, and have a phone number for direct conversation

good luck !

i sent an email to rockland and and they said there is really no reason to
varnish / shellac dry plates made with their product unless it is
exposed to the elements but also said some people put a polyurethane coating on the plates.
they did say it was durable / tough as it is , maybe this is because of hardener ?

i know YOUR emulsion is obviously different from theirs, but maybe you can use this information
to decide what to do .

good luck

I decided the better part of valor was to not go down that path. I just coated a handful of plates and I'm having enough fun/difficulty just trying to avoid air bubbles in the poured emulsion.

Maybe if I ever try tintype or wet plate.

If you want to try out tintype with collodion, there is a workshop coming up in Brattleboro on Feb 27.