DIY Print Squeegee improvement -- for those like me with Rube G. genes

[Ulophot]

I don't remember when I heeded a suggestion to replace the stiff rubber "photographic" squeegee I had purchased for my prints with a soft truck wiper blade. It was long ago enough that the item could be purchased for relative peanuts, unlike the dazzling displays at today's auto parts chains with Bronze, Silver, and Gold/Platinum levels of windshield wipers that practically come with their own hood ornaments.

Anyway, a few months ago I got ambitious and decided to finally add a handle of some sort. I found one in the home store plumbing dept. for 99 cents (raise your hand if remember the days when keyboards had the c with the diagonal line through it for cents) and it attached handily with some epoxy paste. I know, you're bowled over by my fine craftsmanship, my classic artistic design. Never mind. It makes the job easier.

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[Doremus Scudder]

I've been using regular automotive windshield wipers of various sizes for years now. They work better than "print squeegees" that are intended for photo use. I find them easy to grip as they are, but your handle looks trick!

Doremus

[Daniel Stone]

A professional squeegee for window washers is durable, the blades are inexpensive and for some, you can use different blades with durometer(hardness) ratings. Silicone blades are also available for some, although those are usually marketed towards the food prep market. Like with so many other things, McMaster Carr offers an assortment based on your needs/desires.

https://www.mcmaster.com/squeegees/

My local Home Depot carries stainless handle ones from Unger, which I find suitable. YMMV of course
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Unger-12-in-Stainless-Steel-Window-Squeegee-with-Rubber-Grip-961010/202562871

[patrickjames]

Best squeegee I've used is an Oxo I bought at Target years ago. Soft edge tapered blade.

[LabRat]

I don't like squeegee as excess water moves toward edge of squeegee and leaves a line at ends...

I prefer final dip of print into very dilute foto-flo solution and using a very slightly damp photo sponge that absorbs excess water preventing drips and soft to the print surface...

The 3M utility sponges sold at the home store (in painting or cleaning depts) work well after through inital rinse, soaked in distilled water and squeezed out well before use... Store wet with distilled water in ziplock bag, and only put down sponge into bag when not using to keep kleen... Wipe as slow as possible after water had a chance to drain away... Wring out before every wipe...

If in hard water regions, if you don't get the water off evenly, even a thin film of water on surface can dry to a haze, so it's important to wipe dry... Your low key images will like it... ;)

Steve K

[Ulophot]

Yes, Steve, but what about the universal aesthetic appeal of my world-class contraption compared with your sponge? It speaks to mankind's eternal quest for creative invention, to advance in scientific and technological progress, to photography's unique combination of the mechanical with the artistic. It serves as a means of inspiration for the solitary darkroom craftsman as he or she stands quietly before a finished fine printwith the elegant ergonomics of my handled squeegee gently caressing the fingers, filled with glowing emotion as the totality of the meaning of human existence is once again brought to clarity.

[Bertha DeCool]

(raise your hand if remember the days when keyboards had the c with the diagonal line through it for cents)

On a Mac, option $ = ¢

[Pieter]

I have used the kind of silicone squeegee that is sold in auto parts stores for drying cars. Only big enough for 11x14" prints, though.
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[Roger Thoms]

(raise your hand if remember the days when keyboards had the c with the diagonal line through it for cents)

¢, from my iPad, press and hold the dollar sign and you get the cent sign plus a few the signs currencies. I’d love to say I remember the c with the diagonal line, but unfortunately that memory has faded away.

Roger

[LabRat]

I also did some research about using air knifes to blow off moisture, but was concerned that materials might flop around in the air blast, or debris might be carried with the flow and possibly enbed on the soft damp material... But maybe not!!! ;)

Steve K

[Fred L]

This is the one I use, very soft and replaceable blades. https://www.homedepot.ca/product/unger-16-inch-stainless-steel-window-squeegee-with-rubber-grip-and-bonus-rubber-connect/1000711118

[Ben Calwell]

Well, I’m in the minority here. I never squeegee my prints. I just hang them up to dry. Never noticed any ill effects from this, but after reading these posts, I think I’ll try it and compare a dried squeegeed print to a dried unsqueegeed one.

[Greg Y]

I also use an auto windshield wiper (wnterized rubber covered) blade

[wooserco]

I don't like squeegee as excess water moves toward edge of squeegee and leaves a line at ends.

Unless you're printing larger than 26 inches across the short side, you're using too small a wiper blade.