Varnishing prints?

[Shen45]

Many years ago when I worked after school in a portrait studio the photographers used a technique of varnishing matte silver gelatin prints. The results looked rather special.

For the life of me I cannot remember how it was done or with what?

Any ideas??

Steve

[BrianShaw]

Somewhere in my junk box I think I might have a can of photo print spray varnish. It is a spray can. I remember buying it sometime back in the early 1990's. It was the last, lonely can on the shelf... maybe even on the "close-out" shelf since I especially like to browse in that section of most stores. If I recall correctly the brand name was Krylon. I remember using it a couple of times for Polaroid coating (easier than the swabs).

[Gene McCluney]

There are several brands of "varnish" which more appropriately is "lacquer", for photo prints. Glossy, matte, and retouch finishes. The retouch finish is a matte finish with quite a "tooth" which would allow you to easily retouch with Pencils.

[Bill McMannis]

Steve,

I saw some Epson matte prints last month that the photographer coated with beeswax. His prints are urban abstracts and the effect was interesting and attracted quite a bit of attention.

[Bruce Watson]

There are several brands of "varnish" which more appropriately is "lacquer", for photo prints. Glossy, matte, and retouch finishes. The retouch finish is a matte finish with quite a "tooth" which would allow you to easily retouch with Pencils.

Yes. I used to use a retouching spray by a company called LacquerMat. It had plenty of tooth for pencils, and even pastels.

I thought I posted on this a while back. Found this thread (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=12137) which might be helpful.

[Shen45]

Thanks for the various thoughts. I will continue to look at some of the options and if I find a product that works the way I want I will post details.

Steve

[Gene McCluney]

A CAUTION..you should bear in mind that any Lacquer, or spray sealant for prints will in time yellow. I have had this happen to me. This would not be considered an "archival" practice.

[Gary J. McCutcheon]

The practice of lacquering prints with Lacquer Matt, McDonalds and other sprays is an old practice mostly used for major retouching on prints. I even have a spray room that used to be dedicated to just spraying prints. After 20 years of retouching and spraying prints it was obvious to me that sprayed prints discolored quicker than unsprayed prints. The practice was great to retouch prints and the lacquer companies promoted their products at PPA and state affiliated conventions. Even with the UV protection, the prints would turn to the magenta side after about 10 years. I stopped using them about 7 or 8 years ago and now with digital retouching there is no need to even have it.

Ctein writes about his experience with it in his book, "Post Exposure". The lacquer eventually eats up the cyan layer in color photos.

On black and white photos I would expect to see a yellow appearance after a time.

Renaissance wax works as a protective coating, but application and buffing take a lot of time, especially with a number of prints. I do use it to lube rails on my wooden view cameras.

After messing with all this stuff for more than 25 years, I've come to the conclusion that the print surface is better left alone. The best protection is matting with rag board and framing.