I am getting ready to make platinums this week, and only paper I have access to at the moment is Rives BFK. I read this (http://209.35.116.200/?m=200708) about pre-treating the paper with oxalic acid, but I am not sure if I have that in my jr. chemistry set. Would citric acid work for pre-treating Rives? And if so, at what mixture? I use a 15g of citric acid per Liter for a stop bath when I am printing silver. I would do it right if I had the time or money, but I don't.

Thanks in advance.

Richard Boutwell

FYI -- I can get oxalic acid at my local hardware store for a few bucks. It is used as a wood bleach and cleaner.

Would citric acid work for pre-treating Rives?I don't know Richard, it is pretty weak stuff. You can always test, but a bucket of Oxalic Acid is cheap from www.chemistrystore.com (http://www.chemistrystore.com) and they are pretty fast at shipping.

BTW - I've printed on a lot of BFK and have been recently going to a 20% OA solution to pretreat as it seems the paper is more buffered than before. May be something on my end though. I love it for PT/PD.

Good luck!

FYI -- I can get oxalic acid at my local hardware store for a few bucks. It is used as a wood bleach and cleaner.

that is the best news I have heard all day.

I've been using BFK for gumover's lately and I do two baths; 8% and 5% as hot as my tap water will do. Any less and I can get splotches.
The lighter weight "rives" non-BFK prints very well also. A single 5% pre-treat seems to do it. This paper is 175gm has a infinity symbol in the watermark and is slightly off white. It's actually called rives heavyweight even though its lighter than BFK.

I accidentally used citric acid one time to pre-treat some Fabriano Extra white, and realized after I had made a few prints what I had done. It seemed to work fine. I suspect any acid that is strong enough to react with the carbonate buffer would work. For instance, a weak 1% solution of muriatic would also most likely work fine. The main reason that oxalic became the preferred acid is that the any oxalic left in the paper would be naturally 'friendly' with the ferric oxalate in the sensitizer. All that said, I only change what I am doing if either something is wrong or I screw up! Oxalic acid is cheap.

What hardware stores are folks finding Oxalic Acid at? I'm just about out of it!

I tried Home Depot (no luck at all) and Lowes (a liquid version without any strength info). www.chemistrystore.com is very reasonable (cheap even), but if I can get it local I will probably save some shipping $$$

Thanks,
Tom

What hardware stores are folks finding Oxalic Acid at? I'm just about out of it!

I tried Home Depot (no luck at all) and Lowes (a liquid version without any strength info). www.chemistrystore.com is very reasonable (cheap even), but if I can get it local I will probably save some shipping $$$

Thanks,
Tom

Both of my local hardware stores (not big box stores....real, manly hardware stores) have it. They are both part of the Do-It buying co-op.

What hardware stores are folks finding Oxalic Acid at? I'm just about out of it!

I tried Home Depot (no luck at all) and Lowes (a liquid version without any strength info). www.chemistrystore.com is very reasonable (cheap even), but if I can get it local I will probably save some shipping $$$

Thanks,
Tom

I just got my oxalic acid at the local. It was around $5 for a 12oz tub. There was no cost savings compared to getting it from the chemistry store or artcraft chemicals, but I needed now so I could start working tonight.

They did have muriatic acid (I think it was around 37%). Does anyone know if that would have worked?

I accidentally used citric acid one time to pre-treat some Fabriano Extra white, and realized after I had made a few prints what I had done. It seemed to work fine. ...

For what it is worth, I made a slightly different experience with citric which I also tried once for *print-out* palladium on FA. I used sodium pal. chloride which gives a warm image color, andi noticed two things with citric: 1) the color was distinctly colder 2) not al the density was printed out, there was a little bit left to be developed (pot.-oxalate); something i never noticed with oxalic acid.

Well.... Mark ..... questioning my manlyness????? Well.........

I'll try the local dimly lit man-cave style hardware store this afternoon ;-)

Here on the far edge of metropolitan Los Angeles, Oxalic Acid can't be found :-(

Even the manliest hardware store (with small livestock available from time to time) didn't have it. Of course this is LA, so the counter help in the manliest hardware store was female, had a big lip ring and was drinking a Starbucks Cappuccino! I even tried Do It, which didn't "do it" for oxalic. I gave up and ordered online. Buy a few pounds and this stuff is cheap even with shipping $$$.

I still miss having Tri-Ess down the road in Burbank.

They have oxalic acid wood cleaner at my local Albertson's supermarket. How's that for odd?

Then again, at the same market I can walk down three aisles and grab a 750ml bottle of 190 proof Everclear. God Bless New Mexico!

Everclear is another thing we can't get in LA. Someone (Kerik??) got me hunting for that for use in gum printing. Apparently illegal here. Perhaps it is time for me to move to New Mexico!

I found that cheap vodka works quite well in my gum work, perhaps Everclear would be better? I'll never know :-(

Take an enjoyable trip to Arizona or New Mexico and it is easy to find Everclear.

I like to put a little bit of the everclear into the cap and put it on my lips, I love the feeling of it evaporating.... it is an interesting sensation :-)

Corey

yes, I'm in AZ