When the plate has been cleansed thus of all surplus and blemishes, weak
aquafortis is poured over it several times and then it is coated with
gum. After a few minutes it is inked-in with fairly firm color. Then it
will be seen that the design is clean, but that all the parts that were
too light are not darker, but perhaps even lighter, having been affected
by the etching. To remedy this, coat the stone with gum solution and
then wipe it off with a dry clean rag so thoroughly that only a thin
film of gum remains behind. To judge this better, it is well to mix a
little red chalk with the gum. When the plate is wholly dry, take a
knife-like tool of steel as described before, and scrape the defective
parts under moderate pressure, without injuring the elevated points of
the design. Great care must be taken during this process to let no
moisture, not even the breath, touch the stone, because that would
produce the very opposite of what is aimed at. When all faulty places
have been treated, a little tallow or linseed oil is smeared over the
plate and then washed away well but gently with thin gum and water. If
this manipulation has been done accurately, the lost parts of the design
will appear when the plate is inked with a somewhat softer color.
Those who fear that they do not possess the skill necessary for this
rubbing-up of the defective parts may attain the object by re-drawing
them. The stone must be washed off first with a great deal of very pure
water and the crayon must contain much soap. This kind of correction
must be finished as quickly as possible and the stone should not be set
aside for any length of time without a gum coating. If the corrections
are extensive, it is better first to ink the stone well with acid-proof
color and then to wash it in pure water and let it dry. Then if it is
inked-in after the design is finished, and if weak aquafortis is poured
over it and it is prepared with gum, it will keep for several months.
Slight blemishes, white specks, etc., can best be corrected by gentle
touching-up with crayon during the proof-printing on the wet plate. It
is understood, of course, that one can also work with pen or brush in a
crayon design that has been already etched. Parts that are too dark can
be made lighter by passing over them a few times with a brush dipped in
weak aquafortis and then re-coating with gum.
These are about the best ways for correcting a crayon design that proves
after etching to be imperfect.
I close with the following:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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