Things You'll Need:
- Brushes
- Spray Polyurethane Finish
- Stones Or Piece Of Metal
- Acrylic Matte Medium
- Gesso (if Desired)
- Rubbing Alcohol (if Needed)
- Watercolor Paper
- Darkroom Equipment
- Photo Negatives
- Safelights
- Liquid Light
- tub, bucket or pan
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Step 1
Choose your stone or piece of metal. Keep in mind that an image will show up better on a light surface - and that, for this technique, you'll need a relatively flat surface.
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Step 2
Prepare the surface: Wash or wipe it down; scrub it if necessary to remove loose particles. Degrease it with rubbing alcohol if necessary.
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Step 3
Coat a metal surface with two coats of spray polyurethane - front and back - and allow it to dry fully to seal the surface and prevent it from rusting.
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Step 4
Coat a stone surface or sealed metal surface with two coats of acrylic matte medium - front and back - and allow it to dry fully.
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Step 1
Heat the Liquid Light by placing the sealed bottle in a tub, bucket or pan of hot water. (It will begin to re-congeal if the temperature falls below 80 degrees F.)
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Step 2
Pour some Liquid Light onto your target surface area under safelight conditions in the darkroom, and spread it around using a brush.
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Step 3
Make several test strips at the same time by pouring Liquid Light onto watercolor paper.
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Step 4
Allow to dry in complete darkness for several hours. (The surface will be "good" for at least a week - check the bottle to be sure.)
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Step 5
Expose the image as you would a normal photograph - that is, test until you get optimum exposure time for your image.
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Step 6
Develop, fix and wash as usual - but you may need to modify your developing and fixing trays depending upon the shape of the object you're printing on.
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Step 7
Allow to dry fully. A piece of metal will probably dry in an hour or two; a porous rock may need to dry overnight.
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Step 8
Seal with clear polyurethane or acrylic matte medium.
