Step 8: Reclaiming the Screen
Welcome to Art2Silkscreen's first series of tutorials on how to properly screen print your designs.
In today’s blog, the final one of this tutorial series, we’re going to take you through the process of reclaiming your screen after you have printed your design.
This stage is also known as de-coating your screen or removing the emulsion/stencil. This crucial step should never be missed so make sure you read carefully before carrying out this task. That way, you can use your screen again.
For this stage, you will need a washer (preferably a power hose), a wash booth and a cleaning brush.
1: Take Off Tape
Taking your screen, it’s important to first make sure you remove all of your masking tape or anything else obstructing the stencil. This is to make sure that you get all of the stencil off when you coat it with the stencil strip, otherwise, you’ll end up with patches of it leftover.
Grab your stencil strip and get ready to use it. There are usually two varieties it can come in, either it’s concentrated and you can dilute it in a jug of water before rubbing it on both sides of the screen, or you can get it in a spray bottle and spray it directly onto the screen.
2: Apply Stencil Strip
Work your stencil strip into the emulsion using a cleaning brush. This will soften the stencil, making it much easier to break down.
Give it a good rub over on both sides and check to make sure you haven’t missed any spots.
Leave the strip for a couple of minutes to let it does its work. Be careful not to allow the stencil strip to dry up on the mesh as it could damage it.
3: Wash with Power Hose
Using a pressure washer, blast the screen on both sides until the stencil is removed.
If your pressure washer isn’t powerful enough, change the nozzle if you can to a fine point nozzle as this will help apply more direct pressure to the stencil.
Check the bar pressure of the pressure washer, we use a 165 bar pressure washer to ensure you get the force required for some more of the water-resistant emulsions.
4: Go Back to Step 1!
Once the stencil is stripped off the mesh, if the mesh is clear and free of ghosting, go back to step one and degrease the screen before your next use.
If you have ghosting on the screen, then move to the next step which is removing the ghosting residue on the mesh. You will see how to do this in a future demonstration.
To begin the process again, be sure to visit the first step in this tutorial series, Degreasing Your Screen.
Congratulations! You have successfully reclaimed your screen. Watch this space for more tutorials coming soon.
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