Technical specificatie of Lascaux Black Coating for hard resist #2096 and user's instructions

85 ml bottle

500 ml bottle

Composition : Aqueous dispersion of vinyl acetate copolymer with pigment.

Properties

The Lascaux coloured coatings are non-toxic, remain water-soluble when dry and are not designed to be acid resistant. Lascaux coloured coatings (Black and White) have been designed to be used in conjunction with Lascaux Hard resist. The layer of dry Hard resist is coated with a Lascaux coloured coating so that the drawing is highly visible. The black coating is analogous to the traditional practice of smoking hard ground, and the white to traditional lead white grounds.

Directions

The objective is to produce an even, thin coating on the plate. Work on a clean workboard in an area with good light. The plate should be prepared, backed, dry and cold. Position the plate on a sponge (or sponges) so that it is raised up from the surface of the workboard. Squeeze a small amount into a clean china or glass palette. The type of brush used is important as a coarse brush will lay down a ridged layer or a layer with gaps. A synthetic brush such as a 2’’ (5 cm) Prolene brush made by ProArte is ideal and should be kept for applying resists and coloured coatings. Apply the coloured solution thinly to the plate in methodical strokes, allowing these to extend off the plate surface to avoid unwanted pools of solution forming at the edges of the plate. Small plates can be rotated through 90° and, without reloading the brush with resist, the entire plate surface brushed again. Wipe any excess solution from the brush on the side of the palette. To become confident at applying and using the resist, experiment on small test plates with different application brushes and drawing tools.

Drying the coloured coating:

The plate can be laid flat to dry naturally or dried with a warm air fan in a horizontal drying cabinet. The coating quickly becomes touch dry and when it is fully dry it may be drawn into. Making a drawing, washing away the coating and stopping-out: If a guide drawing is required pencils or tracing paper can be used on the coloured surface. A range of etching tools may be used to draw through both the coloured coating and the layer of Hard resist to expose the metal below. The drawn line may look jagged if looked at with a magnifying glass; however it is the non etching coloured coating which may display a ragged line. When the line is viewed after the necessary removal of the coating (see below) the line in the hard resist will be clean and the resulting etched line will be smooth edged. When the drawing is complete the coloured coating is washed away with water from the surface of the Lascaux Hard resist. The resist may be stained slightly and the drawn lines will be visible. If the coating will not wash away it may have been applied to a layer of resist which had not fully dried. Stopping-out and drawing corrections are made after the coloured coating has been washed away and the plate has been dried.

Etching the plate

The coloured coating should be washed away with water before etching and the procedure for etching a hard resist follwed.

Removal

Lascaux coloured coatings are water-soluble and can be cleaned from brushes, tools, plates and surfaces with warm soapy water.