TW on pre-gessoed canvas. WTF?

[zachb]

TW on pre-gessoed canvas = poor adhesion and flaking. I searched the forums and Luther mentions adhesion promoters, got one you can recommend? Suggestions? thank you

[squeegeethree]

I have no problem with printing on canvas with TW. First question is whether or not the gesso is primed for oil or acrylic (acrylic primed is advisable). The second question is whether or not the canvas is hand primed. If it's hand primed then there may be a lot of gesso dust from sanding still on the surface. Removing all the sanding dust is needed regardless of the ink type/ manufacturer. Last question is how old the canvas is. This is an important question because 4 years ago american artist canvas manufacturers had to switch out their chemistry to comply with EU environmental standards. The sufficant they switch to was not good and ended up yielding a huge amount of canvas that WB inks would not stick to.

There are adhesion promoters that you can buy for TW but if it's an old batch of NG canvas from the experimental age listed above there isn't much you can do about it. Thick initial coverage can be a problem as well. It is better to build up the surface. If your first color is white then try putting some halftone base in the white. Pure white had the toughest time sticking for some reason.

[zachb]

Hey Luther, it is primed for acrylic, doesn't say hand primed on the label, it came primed. It was just purchased not old stock. We hit it twice with pure white initially. Ordered some WB activator from TW for improved adhesion. We'll give the white plus base with some activator a shot. Thanks man

[squeegeethree]

No problem. You may want to mix in some base into the white. The white by itself, due to high pigment content, doesn't stick as well as pure base.

Edit: oh, you said your were doing that already.

[Steve Chanks]

I always put a thin layer of gesso on my pre-gessoed canvases to be safe.
Do it before you set up your paints and it'll be dry before you start painting.