geoff Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 we have always used frog juice, but have some of the Tetenal 'protenal' now. I'm a bit worried - just applied it ( thinned as per instuctions and with a brush) and after half an hour the surface of the canvas has taken on a milky & not very attractive appearance. Anybody used this stuff and will it improve as it dries ? or should I start to make a new canvas now ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colopt Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Whats "frog juice" ? I hope they are not an endangered species! I have been using a acrylic gel top coating on my canvases and they do indeed appear milky until they dry, like most water based top coats. Not sure if this is anything like protenal though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff Posted June 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 frog juice was the potent stuff that Tetenal used to supply, worked well though it stank a bit (not of frogs fortunately). Now they've stopped that & are selling this protenal stuff but it ruined the first canvas I did with it - it looks like its taken the top layer of colour off, almost as if you've gone over it with a fine sandpaaper. where can I get some frog juice ( no jokes about kermitt please) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliveanton Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I am old and semi retired but having run a pro-lab for more years than I care to admit I still work for a few former customers from home - having kept most of the equipment from the lab days. I have been producing canvas prints since the early days when it first became possible to strip the emulsion from RA prints and it was necessary to heatseal them first to make them strong enough to peel off. About 5 years ago a customer came in with a canvas I had done 18 years previously and asked if it would be possible for me to copy and reprint it as it had slowly turned from colour to a sepia effect. A few questions soon acertained that it had spent all those years on display in a pub (before the smoking ban) so I took it to a sink and used a small scrubbing brush and washing up liquid on it, within a few minutes it looked as good as new. The point of this story is to illustrate the reason that even with inkjet canvas I still heatseal them all - knowing that it not only improves the look but I can be sure they will last, I can charge a little more and it is an excellent selling point to boot. Of course many of you will not have the room to install a hot press but if you have maybe it is worth considering - they fetch very little when they appear on Ebay! Just a thought, sorry about the long ramble. Clive Swiftimaging.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony.T Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I use 'eternacryl' liquid inkjet lamination. Buy it from mandev who is a member on here. Had no problems with it at all. Dries fast to a very clear finish. I do find that it makes the print a little yellow/green so I add a bit of blue/magenta to the print to counteract this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLA Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Frog juice is available from Lion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photographis Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 That is interesting, Cliveanton. what do you heatseal it with? as in the covering. Most of our canvas's are around 20x30, and I too have been watching the old heat presses on ebay, but haven't seen one that size. do you do it in two takes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliveanton Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Photographis: Hi My press is a hydraulic 32x22" but there is no problem doing larger prints in however many bites are necessary - I have seen 26x22" hardbed wheel operated presses go for a song and having used one in the past can honestly say they will do the job excellently. Try http://hotpress.co.uk/ for the gloss laminate, these days Ademco seem to be long gone. Good luck Clive Swiftimaging.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff Posted July 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 Back to protenal .......Tetenal have taken the canvas in question away to test it and test protenal further. awaiting a verdict. meantime using frog juice spray, even though it nearly kills us each time we squirt it round. Surely there's something better ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cecilh Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 We use Hahnemuhle Fineart Protective Spray from Fotospeed which works well. We use it for our smooth wraps too. Regards Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 I use Print Guard from Speciaiist Inks. It is in spray form. Denis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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