Masking Fluid Trick

[Val]

Me thinks I'll get out the medical kit...just in case! Better yet, my fish filletting glove...that's the ticket! Will post my results.

[dennis]

Looking forward to it - minus the blood 

[Leana]

Dennis, just a quick question .  Now with the watercolour course... I bought a new bottle of masking fluid>reason being...  I have another bottle, which is quite a few years old and I thought I better test it, before the watercolour course, to see if it still works ... what I did notice was that it stained the paper to a slight yellow.  Can I still use it (however I will not end up with pure white paper should I do use it)...or shall I just discard it altogether seeing that I do have a 'fresh' one now?  Will I be able to use it whatsoever for anything?

[sapphirelynn]

Dennis,  for the great tip.  Do you use regular masking tape on your paper or do you use the light tack masking tape that is used on walls when house painting?

[dennis]

Leana, you can still use that old masking fluid as long as it is easily removed from the paper. Just use it in areas where you know you do not need the area in the final paper to be white. It would not have been a problem if I had used it in the area where I painted the red bougainvillea bush, for instance.

Lynn, I use regular masking tape. I tried the low-tack type but the paint easily seeps under it and spoils the paper. I would definitely not use it in this instance. I also found that after a very short period of time it completely lifted off the paper

[sapphirelynn]

Thank you so much Dennis.  I found the same thing only I thought I was doing it wrong.  Another question, "is there a right side of the paper and how do you tell?" 

[dennis]

Usually there is a watermark or an embossing that will tell you, otherwise normally the rougher side is the side to paint on. This side has the most sizing, although you can also paint on the other side as well.

It is best to paint on the proper side for best results.

[sapphirelynn]

Once again Thank you Dennis, my paper has no embossing so the rougher side it will be thanks

[Leana]

Dennis  for replying... funny enough, after I posted I thought that maybe I can use it in areas that contain yellow...from yellow, orange, to red... thought if I painted blue over it...I might end up with green  ... I am truly glad that I can still utilise it... will keep it for 'special' occassions where I don't need the white/white of the paper   

[Rkymtnmary]

Uh oh...

Today I tried the Cosmos painting - my first painting ever.  Everything was going great and I was shockingly pleased with my background colors but then...disaster struck!  I began to remove the masking fluid after taking a hair dryer to it and to my surprise, the paper beneath the fluid began to tear and the only way I could get the fluid off was to actually remove it with my fingers after rubbing it.  I had taken care to remember to put it on thick vs thin, my painting was dry and I began the process by using clear tape as the remover.  At first, I thought maybe I'd started off with trying to remove an area that may have been too thin (but I really was pretty sure it wasn't) but as it turned out, it happened with every area that I had applied it to.  I was using 140 lb watercolor paper I'd purchased at an art store so I didn't think quality was an issue.  I think I may have salvaged it insofar as I rescued enough of it to be able to attempt to paint over the now whitened areas but it's definitely not going to look as it should.  Does anyone have any idea what I might have done wrong? 

[Lillian]

Oh My!!!!  You must feel like    Sorry to hear you had that disaster!   

on your first watercolor painting.  It sounds like it turned out pretty nice.  I'd love to see it.

I'm doing a lot of thinking here     and I hope my thoughts help you out....I'm thinking that perhaps you may have the heat on your hairdryer set on high heat or may even have brought it real close to your painting while the masking fluid was on the paper. 

If you haven't already painted in the areas where the paper has lifted, when you paint, you may want to start with a very watery mix as I'm thinking those areas may take in more pigment. 

In the end, when your painting is dry, you may try spraying your painting with a spray matte fixative which may help to give evenness to the surface.

Dennis may have a better answer and even a better solution to help you out with your dilemma.

Dennis, can you  Mary?

[Rkymtnmary]

Oh My!!!!  You must feel like    Sorry to hear you had that disaster!   

on your first watercolor painting.  It sounds like it turned out pretty nice.  I'd love to see it.

I'm doing a lot of thinking here     and I hope my thoughts help you out....I'm thinking that perhaps you may have the heat on your hairdryer set on high heat or may even have brought it real close to your painting while the masking fluid was on the paper. 

If you haven't already painted in the areas where the paper has lifted, when you paint, you may want to start with a very watery mix as I'm thinking those areas may take in more pigment. 

In the end, when your painting is dry, you may try spraying your painting with a spray matte fixative which may help to give evenness to the surface.

Dennis may have a better answer and even a better solution to help you out with your dilemma.

Dennis, can you  Mary?


Hi, Lillian and thank you SO much for your response.  As you mentioned, no, I did not yet paint those areas so I can definitely try the watery mix.  I'm not great at free hand drawing (surprise! lol) so I don't have a lot of expectations to my "fix."  I did start out on low with the dryer but right toward the end, I switched to high in order to dry the entire painting but I kept it about 12 inches away...but I'll not do THAT again!  In looking at it this morning, I'm almost tempted to keep as is as the white areas look kind of nice but I'm too OCD I think to let it stay.  I'm going to try everything you're suggesting and I'll let you know.  I'm not going to let this daunt me though.  One further question if I may...even at the full dryness of the paint, I noticed that the masking fluid still remained what I'd call slightly tacky.  Is this what it should be or should it be totally non-sticky?  I thought just because of its nature that that was the way it was supposed to be...Sorry for the novel but I so want to salvage my first attempt.  Thank you for taking the time to answer...I really appreciate it. 

[Lillian]

Hi Mary 

I sure hope I'm not leading you astray.     I really am no expert!

Masking fluid is a rubbery substance when it's dry, so it will feel tacky.

I've been working on the seascape, and just came back a few minutes ago to see what's going on here.  I can't stay away!!!  So, sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

Will you show us your painting when you're finished?  I'm sure we'd all like to see what you've done.

I'm amazed at what nice work folks are doing who have never done watercolor before.

[Rkymtnmary]

Oh no, Lillian - you didn't lead me astray at all.  I was able to accomplish that all by myself!  LOL   You actually encouraged me to carry on so that's what I did.  Yikes.  Let's just say that it's as done as it's going to be...if I weren't so shy or knew how to even post, I'd probably put it up just so everyone could have a huge laugh - not mocking myself but it really IS funny.  I neglected to mention that somehow, I reversed the template so, for starters, the painting's in reverse which of course then threw off my lighting...suffice to say, the sun is shining on this one every which way!  I just went by what I thought looked good if such a word could even be applied here!  And then, my ferns started out as kelly green...now, I have no idea what color they are but it's somewhere between a brown and dying grass!!  Plus, they had to be painted much thicker than they're supposed to be to accommodate the little issue with the tearing paper so the cosmos look like they're in the middle of a forest!  Now, the good things though.  1.  I finally picked up a brush after MONTHS of gathering supplies I'd just stare at.  2.  I learned that I am determined because this should definitely have been thrown in the garbage but instead, it's now sitting on my easel..LOL.  3.  I'm no longer afraid to try to mix colors - what colors I sure don't know but now I know what it feels like to do that!  4.  I started "fixing" things at 11 am my time (CT, US) and I looked up at the clock when I was finished and it was 3:30!  I love when that happens.  So, all is not lost...not sure what I'm going to tackle next - might be the landscape.  I'm thinking it might make sense to get a little more comfortable with watercolors before I wander into oils.  At least there's no masking fluid involved!  Thank you again for your help! 

Mary 

[dennis]

This is not an easy question to answer as several things can go wrong.

Can be the wrong type of paper even if it is 140lb. Different manufacturers have different hardness and softness to the paper. Softness - meaning the fibers are not sufficiently compresses and bonded to each other.

The paper could still have been a bit too wet - being a thick paper it could have soaked up a lot of water and although dry to the touch was still just wet enough for the masking fluid to take the paper with it. Overheating the masking fluid could be another - rather let the masking fluid dry and cool down before taking it off.

Another point is that if masking fluid is applied too thickly it also can take quite a time to dry.