18011 Screen Painting Fluid. Lascaux, 500ml bottle

Composition

Aqueous dispersion of vinyl acetate copolymer with pigment

Lascaux Screen painting fluid is used in combination with Lascaux Screen filler to make creative stencils for waterbased screenprinting. A variety of tools can be used to apply this versatile painting fluid to the mesh and the marks made will ultimately print.

Properties and Applications

This ready-to-use non-toxic water-soluble screen painting fluid has excellent handling properties, is easy to see in the mesh, dries quickly to form water-soluble stencils, and closes meshes effectively. The Lascaux Screen painting fluid image will accept several coats of Lascaux Screen filler without dissolving, yet is easy to remove from the mesh when processing. This method can be used on an open mesh, a screen filler stencil or a photostencil.

Working Practice

Meshes should be clean, degreased and dry. Use a map to register painted marks or a soft water-soluble crayon to make guiding marks on the mesh. The Lascaux Screen painting fluid may be applied by brush or squeegee on coarse or fine meshes. The painting fluid can be applied to the appropriate side of the mesh depending on the methods being used (see Lascaux Screen filler information).

Method

An image can be formed by applying Lascaux Screen painting fluid to open areas of the screenprinting mesh. Photostencils or screen filler stencils may close some parts of the mesh and these may be incorporated in the structure of the image. A thin layer of painting fluid will lie between the threads of the screen mesh, closing this. As the painting fluid remains water-soluble when it dries, it is known as a short term stencil.

When the painting fluid is dry, a thin layer of Lascaux Screen filler should be squeegeed over the mesh on the same side as the Lascaux Screen painting fluid was applied. When this layer of filler has completely dried, warm water can be used to wet and soften the Lascaux Screen painting fluid image. After a few minutes the painting fluid will start to dissolve. It will break through any thin layers of filler partially coating it, and can be wiped away, together with small fragments of filler, leaving the mesh open. It may be necessary to dampen both sides of the screen.

The filler will be left in the mesh, preventing the passage of printing mix through the mesh onto the paper. The new open areas will print.

Removal

Lascaux Screen painting fluid can be cleaned from
brushes, tools and the mesh with warm soapy water.

References
© Robert Adam and Carol Robertson “Screenprinting - the complete water-based system”, Thames & Hudson, London, 2003 

Lascaux Water-Based Screenprinting

The water-based screenprinting method and the acrylic-resist etching system are the modern options – safer, healthier and more environmentally friendly, as well as quick to learn and accessible to all.

For an information sheet on Lascaux Water-based Screen Printing click here to download the PDF file.