How to Reclaim Stubborn Emulsion without losing your s#*t

If you are reading this the odds of you being extremely frustrated are high. Reclaiming stubborn emulsion from your screen can be an infuriating process especially when in a time crunch. So first we will dive in with instructions to get that emulsion off your screen quickly (if possible.) Then we will discuss how this happens in the first place so you can avoid this situation in the future.

Necessary Steps to Remove Emulsion

1. Remove all excess ink from the screen. Use an ink remover to make sure ink is cleaned from the screen. Ecotex Plastisol Screen Wash and Ecotex Water-based Press Wash are excellent ink removers.

2. Use a quality emulsion remover, Ecotex Emulsion Remover is a great remover for every emulsion.

3. Spray Emulsion Remover onto your screen (both sides) let emulsion sit on the screen ONLY 30 seconds.

4. Scrub with an abrasive scrub pad, we recommend scrubbing from bottom to top as the emulsion remover spray has naturally traveled down your screen and pooling up at the bottom. Do this on both sides of the screen.

5. Use a pressure washer to blast off emulsion. *Pressure washer is key here. A garden hose is not going to do the trick.

If your emulsion is still locked onto the screen

1. Lather Ecotex Hyper Haze onto your screen and let it sit 5–10 minutes.
2. Take an abrasive scrub pad and scrub the product in really well. Do this on both sides of the screen.

3. Use a pressure washer to blast off emulsion. Again, no mention of garden hose here, you need to pull out the big guns, pressure washer all the way.

If your emulsion is still locked onto the screen

…its time for a new screen. Save your sanity and scrubbing power for another day.

How to Avoid Stubborn Emulsion in the Future

You: Ok so what happened, why is my emulsion locked onto the screen like that!?

Us: There are a few different reasons your emulsion is being extra stubborn today.

Reasons:

• You let the emulsion remover sit on the screen longer than the manufacturers recommended time. When you leave emulsion remover on the screen too long it locks the emulsion onto the screen. Yes, ironic, we know.
• Your emulsion is overexposed. If emulsion is exposed too long under a light source or in the sun the emulsion will be extremely difficult to remove
• You used an emulsion hardener. Adding emulsion hardener makes very durable stencils, so durable that they are often almost impossible to reclaim. Don’t be too quick to judge the strength of your emulsion remover when using a hardener, it’s basically trying to tackle your emulsion on steroids.

This Article is originally posted by Screen Print Direct