'Ghost' on the screen

[tenspeed]

Hey guys,

I should probably start with the backstory - 3 years ago I screen printed a run off tee's for a friends band using the old 'paint on resistant/blocker' approach. Foolishly I thought it would be a good idea to leave the design on there for reprints... and consequently completely forgot about the screen.

Fast forward to now and I've decided to print some inserts for a CD. I've washed down the screen (surprisingly easy given the fact that it was stuck on for 3 years) and i've been left with what I can only describe as ghost images. One is more like a transparent imprint, while the other has a white tinge to it where it looks like it's been dyed.

I'm using photo-emulsion for the next run - will this effect it?

I just need a little direction, a few heads up on if I should worry about this or not.

Cheers

[NeroInferno]

You should de-haze the screen. There ara some caustic products you left on the wet screen, and then with a power washer you remove the ghost.

[THE PiNCH]

woohoo! where on the IOW are you?

de-hazer is like super super bleach... you can use domestic just fine, try that first for a £1 experiment, otherwise screen de-hazer is quite easy to get hold of over here.

things to note, the stuff stinks, wear a mask or at least open a window
the process reduces lifespan of threads slightly and is generally pretty nasty - only do this every 8-10 uses or so - you might wanna degrease with washing up liquid too

lastly its a good idea to make a contribution to the site management and "go premium" if you are gonna seek further advice

nice one mush!

[tenspeed]

Cheers Guys - I'll look into that.

THE PINCH - I'm from Shanklin, born and bred.

Ok I'll have to try and hunt some down. We just gave regular bleach a shot and it didn't really make a difference. I'm going to put a run of paint through it now to see how it effects it but I'm still a little worried about the old designs washing out when I'm preparing the screen next.

And don't worry - I will. I'm moving back up to Epsom tomorrow so it's a little manic at the moment but I'll look into it once it has settled a little next week x

[tenspeed]

Ok, update:

I just tried putting some paint through to see the effects, and this is what happened:

The top design (the clear ghost) was fine - not a sign of the design on the paper at all.

The bottom design (the milky white) wasn't so great. There was still the outlines on the sheet. We tried pulling it again (quite forcefully this time) and it went through without a hitch.

We just washed it down and it all looks the same - I think i'm just going to grab some de-hazer like you suggested.

[NeroInferno]

keep a de-hazer paste, wet the screen and scrub a bit using gloves and let it sit for 1 hour at least. then use power washer. I don't know why but start from the bottom with the power washer and then proceed up...it seems to work better.

Start the power washer from 30cm, then use the power washer to around 5 cm from the mesh.

Fabio