Gloss Spray for matte fineart inkjet paper

[Bill_1856]

Apparently, print conservators are driven crazy by Paul Strand's varnished prints. The varnish darkens but can't be easily removed as it can with oil paintings.

[David Luttmann]

Bob,

The spray from inkjet fix does NOT say it is only for glossy papers. In fact, on their container, it says it is for use on MOST inkjet papers. I've tried it on Ilford and Canon glossy papers and obtained equally horrid results. Thus, regardless of paper type, this glossy spray is useless.

[tim atherton]

There's stuff call (I thnk) Giclee varnish out of the UK that comes in a paint can...

[tim atherton]

http://www.dcpsystems.co.uk/index.htm someone in the US was importing it at one point

[adrian tyler]

careful as well, you could have the best product in the world, but you have do be an expert to apply it properly, practice on some dud copies first.

[David Luttmann]

Thanks for the link, Tim. This might be worth giving a try.

[Craig Wactor]

I use a product called "MSA varnish with UVLS" by Golden Varnishes. I picked it up at the art store. It is brushable, not sprayed. It works well, and does not yellow. I have only used it on coated (luster) prints, though. Polyuerethane, laquer, water based poly, and shellac all had issues. I did have some luck with Krylon crystal clear spray. I used up a whole can on a 24 x 24" print though. A clear sealer really gives inkjet prints a lot more snap!

[Bruce Batchelor]

The Golden varnish is a reliable product, and well-documented. If you look in detail at the application specs on the Golden wesite you will see that it should be applied over an isolation coat. The latter allows the removal of varnish in the future, but that is very theoretical. The website includes instructions on various application methodologies, but the only one which makes sense for inkjet is spray. To attain correct viscosity for spraying this isolation coat, you combine the chosen Golden medium with airbrush spray diluent. There are several Golden media you can look at, depending on the surface you want. Once this is dry, and maybe after several coats, you apply the varnish. Use true turpentine to thin this, not the "paint thinner" junk from the paint store, as it can contain all kinds of ugly stuff from recycling, including heavy oil residues. The results of the spraying get very interesting as to surface effects and the desirable deepening of the tones. If you use a thick medium with little diluent you can even get a sort of flocking. The anti-fade longevity of this process should be substantial because of the sealing of the surface and the UV inhibition of the products. For true conservation spray the back of the print the same as the front, and use only heavy stock, say more than 250 gsm's.