I have two aluminum framed screens for silk screening. A while back I applied emulsion, let it dry, and when the screen didn't turn out right, I tried to remove the dried emulsion with remover. It didn't come completely out and since then the screens have dried again. Is it possible to use them ever again? Is there another way to clean them out? I've heard bleach works but I'm not sure how to do it or if it actually does work. Does anyone have any ideas?
If the screen was never exposed it should wash out without remover. Did you spray at it for awhile. It takes a while for the emulsion to brake down. If it has been sitting where light can get to it it is probably exposed by now. It should come right off with remover.
If it was not exposed, it should come off easily, and if it was over exposed, the reclaimer should do most of the job. Even though if in this case it wouldn't go off, there are caustic products, such as our 12.390 or other famous products called pregan that you can apply on the screen by both sides and should remove any type of image left. Only if you have used a catalyst for the emulsion you wouldn't be able to recover it
I have two aluminum framed screens for silk screening. A while back I applied emulsion, let it dry, and when the screen didn't turn out right, I tried to remove the dried emulsion with remover. It didn't come completely out and since then the screens have dried again. Is it possible to use them ever again? Is there another way to clean them out? I've heard bleach works but I'm not sure how to do it or if it actually does work. Does anyone have any ideas?
If you used emulsion remover and the emulsion remover dried on the screen. The emulsion is LOCKED to the mesh. It won't come out.
Time you got your frames restretched, next time treat your screens with a little more respect & don't leave them around waiting to be reclaimed.
As a screen printer, your screens & squeegees are your main tools of the trade (not your PC/Mac). Some of my meshes have been used for over 10 years (they're still tight) and all my blades are sharp.
it still works, i had the same thing happen to 3 of my screens and the haze remover worked.
I'm very happy that caustic haze remover worked for you, but it is still poor advice for removing stencils. You should also not use a pipe wrench as a hammer, regardless of how well it works.
Stencil removers are designed to attack sensitizer crosslinks and when you have a completely exposed stencil the stencil falls out of the mesh, because it's the sensitizer crosslinks that hold the stencil in the mesh.
Haze removers are designed to attack nasty air dry ink and not stencils. Solvent resistant stencils laugh at haze removers, just like they laugh at aggressive inks - especially water resistant stencils used with the water based inks. Water based caustics just don't penetrate into the stencil well.
If rookie screen makers don't completely expose a stencil - that nasty haze remover will burrow down into the stencil, and possibly, chemically fuse all the unexposed sensitizer that now, can't be remover with stencil remover.
If a screen maker needs to shop for supplies, (especially if they are a plastisol printer), ready to use stencil remover is the product they will always always need.
Another approach, Hydro Engineering taught us that high pressure water (3,000 psi), without chemicals will remove a stencil. The tighter the mesh, the better that works.
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How are you measuring? retired Ulano Technical Support Screen printing since 1979 - SGIA Academy Member
it still works, i had the same thing happen to 3 of my screens and the haze remover worked.
The haze remover absolutely works. I took a screen to my main supplier after it had been exposed, sit in the sun for days, etc.
They told me it was done for. I used the haze remover. Let it sit for a little while, it came off like brand new.
BTW, my local community college took the haze remover and broke it down in my daughter's chemistry class. It was pure Drano with/without the bleach (i forget but either the Drano of the HR had bleach.) I'm just saying, worse case scenario, Sunday night, no HR, Drano might be a trial.
reclaiming question? 
