[Duma_64]

Hey, I'm kind of new to screen printing and I've been doing this for about 3 months or so, and I'm starting to have problems with the emulsion. First off, when I washed off the emulsion, there's a ghost image still plus emulsion which i can't wash off. I tried using d-haze, but it doesn't work. I've tried using bleach, no luck there either. My theory is that the emulsion expired because I had it for about 3 months so far, and I watched this training video which informed me that the emulsion is good for about 3 months but I'm sure if the emulsion is expired or not, just a thought. I'm running low on option and hopefully anyone can help me with this problem I'm having. Please reply ASAP! If anyone can help, I really really appreciate it! Thanks...

 

[FTWear]

Hi Duma_64,

The best thing for you to do is to contact your supplier of chemicals and ask them what the strongest thing they have is to remove stubborn stains. I don't know how you wash your screens but leave it to soak for a two hours and then hit it with a power washer, that tends to take the last bits out.
Also, if your emulsion has expired, I wouldn't use it. Do you have a manual dryer or a tunnel dryer?

I hope this helps a bit!

 

[ironhead]

I don't think the ghost image will matter any but as far as the unwanted emulsion. It can be stubborn. I used a nylon bristled scrub brush with straight bleach my first time and it took a lot of elbow greese but it should come off eventually.

 

[Duma_64]

Hey thanks for the replies. I have contact the supplier and they told me to use pressured water to wash of the stubborn emulsion. I use a standard garden hose, and I would like to know how much does a pressurized hose goes for. I'm not planning to spend big bucks on this and I would like a recommendation on a cheap and decent pressure hose. If anyone can do that for me, I would really appreciate your effort of helping me. And ironhead I too use nylon bristle brush and works great but this time it's not doing the job but thanks for your reply. And as for Ftwear, what is a manual dryer or tunnel dryer?

 

[monkeylantern]

Ghosting often happens and shouldn't be a problem.

A high power pressure jet works wonders though.

 

[dulreich]

what is a good psi for the power washer?

 

[ftembroidery]

If you don't want to spend much money, take a few quarters with you to your local "wand-type" car wash. Otherwise, go to your nearby hardware store and buy a pressure washer that has about 1500 or more psi. Please note, in heavy-duty commercial usage, these "cheap" pressure washers won't last long, so keep the box and tape the receipt to it, so if it fails within the warranty period, you can get it replaced. If you're an "occasional" user, I'd still keep the box and tape the receipt to it, but you'll probably have it past the expiration of the warranty. That brings up your next concern, catching as much of that emulsion as you can before it goes down your drain and plugs up your plumbing.