Splotchy Emulsion?

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JohnnyFreedom
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Splotchy Emulsion?

Post by JohnnyFreedom »

Hey I've been experimenting and playing around with my setup that I got from Ryocorp and getting used the the whole process from pre to post production, and everything seems to work out pretty good but sometimes I get a weird splotchiness on the layer of emulsion after it dries. Does anybody know what could be causing this? Am I not degreasing properly? Should I just recoat the screens? Hopefully there's a simple solution to this, because I've run out of money to make any more large investments in my setup!

By the way thank to all the printing vets who bother to address all our newbie problems on here. I've spent hours reading this forum and learned so much and have been able to avoid mistakes by learning from other people's!

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Post by ftembroidery »

"Splotchiness" as in it's thicker or thinner in spots, or as in color, or????

If it's just thicker or thinner in areas (which will also sometimes show up as a richer and shinier appearance), it's quite likely your emulsion application technique. It takes a lot of practice to get good with a scoop coater and to make a smooth, consistant stroke.
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JohnnyFreedom
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Post by JohnnyFreedom »

Actually its little dots like some overspray of water droplets got onto the screen, except I am not even running the washout sink between coating and drying. There isn't any debris or anything like dust on the screen, and I made sure not to touch the screen after degreasing it. How much degreaser am I supposed to be using? I use FranMar's D-grease, but I also have a bottle of Simple Green if you think thats better. I try to use all soy solvents since I'm on a septic system though...
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yaleteamsandtees
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Post by yaleteamsandtees »

Simple Green will NOT hurt your septic field.

We use it cut 1 part SG to 5 parts water.

It may be that you are not rinsing it thoroughly.

Finish up with flowing water, not a spray.
It should sheet down the screen.

If you are spraying, some stuff may be getting
thrown back onto the mesh.

The "technical" term is fish eyes and they are
usually the result of oils or grease.
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Post by ROADSIDE »

simple green... huh.. never tried that.

We are moving into the green chemicals now. Soy is such a useful little bean.
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JohnnyFreedom
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Post by JohnnyFreedom »

Thanks for the tips, my emulsion is drying virtually fisheye-free! Degreasing isn't as self-explanatory as reclaiming I guess, since it lacks the visual results of pink/no-pink, but looking for the sheeting water vs streaming/beading helps alot, and I switched to a lower setting on my pressure washer, because I'm sure that the tsunami of 1200 psi is flinging unwanted grease and oil all over the place. I'll try out the Simple Green when I run out of my FranMar stuff, which I have to say I'm totally happy with everything except the Bean-E-Doo ink remover stuff smells so sickening it gives me a headache. I haven't tried the Greenway yet but hopefully it smells as good as the reclaimer and degreaser, which is awesome. Smells like heaven, only cleaner! Thank god for delicious, cleansing soy!
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