Emulsion remover

[dimeotane]

I bought a jar of Speedball emulsion remover. I soaked and scrubbed for an hour. I started getting tears in my screen and the emulsion was still not totally removed. Any suggestions? Screen is too expensive to not reuse. This screen had a bad exposure on it anyway.

[Erica Rodriguez]

You might need to bite the bullet & invest in a pressure washer. Just make sure to read the manual it comes with so the hose doesn't get busted right away. Also, it could be that you didn't let your emulsion cure properly. I usually coat my screens in the evening and let them dry overnight with a dehumidifier running because it's too humid where I live this time of the year. ALSO it could be that your emulsion is too old, etc, etc. It could be any number of things. You should use the advanced search feature to find older post on reclaiming issues. The pros (not me) on here have probably already answered your question.

[caribou]

what kind of emulsion are you using?

[dimeotane]

I'm pretty sure it was Speedball diazo. But I've also used SAATIchem Textil DW before as well... so I suppose it could have been that.

what kind of emulsion are you using?

[heliosdesign]

I think I did the same thing you did. I bought this stuff called Speed Clean to remove emulsion. It doesn't work because it is for removing screen filler not photo emulsion. Make sure that you are using the emulsion remover that came with the diazo kit. I had some old screens that I was trying to wash out but it just wasn't working. I kept re-applying and rinsing but it just wasn't working. Finally I remembered that the diazo kit came with a bottle of remover. Hope this helps.

[kinbote]

1) Burn your stencil. Washout. Dry screen. Then before printing EXPOSE YOUR SCREEN TO THE SUN to make sure all emulsion is fully cooked all the way through. This will help later with reclaiming.

2) Use Strip-E-Doo by Franmar to reclaim, preferably immediately after washing out your ink. Don't dry the screen -- after the ink is washed, just go right into reclaiming. (This prevents any ink you missed from drying on the screen and shielding emulsion from your reclaimer.) With Strip-E-Doo, you won't even need a pressure washer.

Reclaiming used to be torture for me. Every time I feared I'd wreck the screen. And I had bloody knuckles from scrubbing.

Now it's honestly a joy. The emulsion melts with gentle scrubbing (I use a big scratchy-style nylon pad) and washes out with a garden hose sprayer. I bow before the chemist who invented Strip-E-Doo!

(Plus it's made from soybeans. Nontoxic and eco-friendly!)

[kinbote]

Forgot to mention:

The emulsion remaining in your current screen is likely chemically locked in place now.

You generally get only one chance at reclaiming.

That's why the reclaimer instructions usually say to let the stuff sit on the mesh, but to be careful not to let it dry out. When the reclaimer reacts with the emulsion and dries, you get chemical lock.

[squeegeethree]

(Plus it's made from soybeans. Nontoxic and eco-friendly!)

Please be careful when telling people a product in Nontoxic. Strip-E-Doo should be used with gloves, goggles, and respirator same as any other emulsion remover (as stated in the MSDS). It has a health code of 2 and a reactivity of 1 where other emulsion removers have a health rating of 3 but reactivity of zero.

[marvinc02]

i have no luck with strip e doo. i used image star emulsion remover. once in a while i'll dehaze with franmars dehaze to get them extra squeeky clean.

[Andymac]

Please be careful when telling people a product in Nontoxic. Strip-E-Doo should be used with gloves, goggles, and respirator same as any other emulsion remover (as stated in the MSDS). It has a health code of 2 and a reactivity of 1 where other emulsion removers have a health rating of 3 but reactivity of zero.

Good point, Dexter.