# Screen has a faint stain of emulsion after washout.



## RichNation (Aug 8, 2015)

I have a project that I need to get started on but after washing my screens out (aluminum 156 mesh) I noticed that there is still a tint of the emulsion on the screens. The stencils have been on the screens for about a month.

The dual cure emulsion that I used may have been a little old (about 45 days) and I'm not sure if that could be the culprit here.

I stripped the emulsion off with sGreen Emulsion Stripper. After washing the screens I noticed the tint so I ran through the local carwash and pressure washed them off there but the tint remained.

When I got back home I dehazed them with The Green Stuff from Ryonet thinking that would work but it didn't.

I'm wondering if:
1) Can they be reclaimed back to normal? If so, do I need stronger chemicals.
2) Will that tint mess up future stencils if it remains in place?

Thanks,
Richard


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Is it like a ghost image or actual emulsion?

If ghosting, that's pretty normal and should not impact your next job. There is a ghosting image removal chemical you can buy if it does impact it in some way.


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## RichNation (Aug 8, 2015)

This is the actual emulsion. It has the reddish color tint where the emulsion was at.

I hope I didn't ruin my screens.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

But can you still see through the entire screen? 

If no, try reclaiming again letting the remover sit for a bit. Use a non-abrasive scrubbing pad before rinsing out.


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## RichNation (Aug 8, 2015)

I can see through the screen. So should that be ok?


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Do you have any haze remover? Try that.


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## RichNation (Aug 8, 2015)

I tried that but the emulsion tint did not come off.


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## RichNation (Aug 8, 2015)

My understanding may be off, it does look like a ghost image except I thought only the ink could cause that. It's definitely not ink though.


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## 417Graphix (Aug 5, 2014)

You shouldn't worry about the ghost/haze it doesn't affect other jobs. If you still don't feel comfortable let the emulsion stripper sit on the screen for a bit and try working it in with a scrub brush. Like every one is saying there is a haze/ghost remover but you have to be careful when using. You can only spray where you see the haze because it will remove the glue that holds the screen to the frame.


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## RichNation (Aug 8, 2015)

Ah ok, I didn't know the emulsion could leave a ghost image. It hasn't happened to me before, I thought only the ink left the ghost image.


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## 417Graphix (Aug 5, 2014)

RichNation said:


> Ah ok, I didn't know the emulsion could leave a ghost image. It hasn't happened to me before, I thought only the ink left the ghost image.


I have it happen with my red inks. But it never affects my next job.


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## embprints (Sep 13, 2016)

Rich, how did you resolve your problem?

I am using the same exact stuff from Ryonet that came with a $99 kit I bought on Amazon (except I dont have Green Stuff dehazer or a pressure washer) and for the past week have been dealing with fine lines and fine specks of left over pink emulsion. I confirmed that it wasn't a ghost or haze of the emulsion by pulling ink through those areas onto a test pellon and the lines/specks were definitely blocking the ink from going through the mesh. After scrubbing the screen with the Sgreen emulsion stripper multiple times, I actually tried soaking with vinegar for 5-10 minutes, and then tried bleach for 10-15 minutes. No matter how hard I scrubbed, I saw no change...not even a bit. What ended up working was rubbing the fine spots/fine lines with nail polish remover and q-tips! The previous attempts most likely weakened the remaining emulsion by this point, but honestly I made zero progress with the vinegar or the bleach, but once I put the nail polish remover on the fine spots/lines, they started to disintegrate really fast as I rubbed the areas with the soft q-tip.

I know that nail polish remover as well as vinegar and bleach are not recommended since they may damage the mesh, but I only tried as a last resort because at this point I had decided to just remesh the screen if they didnt work, even though I didn't know how to remesh yet (just started learning how to screen print 2-3 weeks ago).


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## RichNation (Aug 8, 2015)

A pressure washer ended up working for me. 

I believe this particular issue was from the emulsion leaving a ghost image but I have had the emulsion leave behind a bunch of tiny red/pink specs since then.

The pressure washer at the car wash did not have enough PSI so I bought one and it has worked very well since.


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## embprints (Sep 13, 2016)

What is the psi of your pressure washer? 

I really don't want to buy a pressure washer yet since this is
still a hobby for me, but based from your experience and ALL the other posts dealing with emulsion, I just
may have to. I found this thread because I was doing a search on the Green Stuff hoping it would resolve this issue....obviously it didnt.


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## HypeClothing (Sep 3, 2014)

Bump. Pro's please help. Having similar issue. 

I reclaim just fine, remove all images except when finished water seems to cling to the image area. There are no colors present.

I go to use screen again and the emulsion will stick to the previous image area during washout. Ink will not run properly through these parts.


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## WGiant (Oct 15, 2015)

You need a De-Hazer.

Also, you may be leaving the ink sitting too long on the screen, say days vs. hours.

Also, if you're spraying your screens with emulsion remover, and waiting too long before pressure washing it can start to dry, and this is a very bad thing, so just be sure to give the emulsion remover enough time to do its thing, but not so much time it can start to dry. If your washout area is in a very sunny spot this might cause similar issues.


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## HypeClothing (Sep 3, 2014)

Thank you for your reply. I actually use two different dehazers before moving to de-greasing. And those situations make sense, and I wish they were solutions, but they don't apply ?

I will sometimes leave a screen in a water/emulsion remover mix for a few minutes at a time if I have several screens to reclaim, but a reclaimed screen is never allowed to dry in between. It goes straight to the pressure washer. 

And like I said the screens look perfect besides water seeming to congregate where a previous image was. Do you have any other ideas? 

(Attached is a screen reclaimed with the one I posted above. I can even get a loop and they look flawless before attempting to re-use)


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## WGiant (Oct 15, 2015)

I've had something similar sometimes. To me, it looked like I was actually wearing down the mesh, so it was actually a case of the threads being worn down where the squeegee had run across them unprotected by emulsions. Not sure if what I'm saying makes sense, but it was mostly noticeable when wet, it didn't cause much of a problem when printing future images though, and there was no fixing it.


I was starting to think it was a glitch in the Matrix


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## HypeClothing (Sep 3, 2014)

Yeah I wouldn't care if it didn't cause printing issues! Haha but I apply the new emulsion to the reclaimed screen, go through my usual steps and those parts don't properly wash out. Even the hose on stream 1/2" away from the screen after everything else has been washed out does nothing. Think I might call Ryonet and see what they say.


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## HypeClothing (Sep 3, 2014)

..because a glitch in the matrix is the logical front runner right now


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

HypeClothing said:


> ..because a glitch in the matrix is the logical front runner right now


I _really_ hope that is the answer, as it could explain so much about the past few years ...


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