Tip to remove thin emulsion film blockage?

[LordS]

(haven't used the forum for the best part of a year so hi all)

I have an almost perfectly burned screen but there is a small area where i couldnt quite get the open areas of the mesh unblocked - i've lost a few fine lines due to a very thin film of emulsion that i can't get out.

i've tried vigorously scrubbing it with fingertip, sponge, and used some dishsoap. i've tried hot water.

does anyone have any tricks i can try or do i need to reburn?

Thanks in advance

[El Roacho]

spit on two shop towels, rub out emulsion from both sides. works on solvent resistant emulsion. seriously.

[LordS]

Rubbing from both sides at the same time is a good look, i'd forgotten about that trick. Will try now. Thanks.

I should add that this emulsion is for water based inks only. I don't know what kind though, was an unmarked pot at the open access place i use to burn.

[strawberryluna]

I've dabbed on emulsion remover onto blocked areas when there is a little room to do it safely and carefully wash it out. It's risky but it can work when you have enough room.

[LordS]

Tried rubbing from both sides with a sponge but that didnt work. @ Strawberry - thanks for the suggestion. i just have a couple of fine lines with a good sized area of solid emulsion around them so that could be viable. so do you try to put remover only on the area to be removed or a little onto the surrounding area too and hope the thin emulsion comes out first? how long do you leave it on for? will the weakened emulsion harden up again when it dries? is there a risk of it locking into the mesh when it dries or will quickly rinsing it prevent that?

[Andymac]

it will eat the emulsion around the lines too - and you need to rinse it off well with water after.

Can you retape the line edges and use blockout to paint on the lines after? sometimes it's just easier to start over again. but figure out why the lines didn't develop. faulty vacuum? thin black on film?

[LordS]

i was definitely thinking about just rebuilding the edges with emulsion after andy - they're hand drawn so that would work.

i've been thinking about what caused the issue - i had a strong black inkjet positive - i checked it carefully beforehand and the black was uniform. the vacuum was strong.

i used the oiled paper method - it burned perfectly apart from this one patch. i was a little overzealous with the oil so i'm thinking it might have been a bubble of oil under the paper.

[jamesheimer]

I've always had luck with camie screen opener and a paper towel. Just don't scrub too hard.

[LordS]

thanks. sounds worth a try but i dont have any to hand and it would take too long to get. does anyone know what the active constituents are? wondering if i might have something in the house that would substitute.

[ohdanielsan]

i'd say start over if you can. the time you're going to spend trying to fix it will probably be longer than just doing it all over again.

also, this isn't a solution to your problem, but whenever this has happened to me, it always comes down to the film not being tight enough against the screen. it could be other things like andy said, but assuming your positive is dark enough, contact is pretty much the culprit. It could also be an inconsistent coating of emulsion, but that's less likely.