Hold the plate above a tray and pour on
a liberal amount of hard ground in one
go.
Distribute it quickly, before it has time
to harden, and place it in a vertical position
on a newspaper to let the excess
polish run off.
Move the plate a few times on the newspaper
to prevent the hard ground from
building up along the lower edge.
After a few minutes on the newspaper,
the plate is ready to be hardened in the
drying cabinet for approximately 10
minutes.
If you are applying the hard ground to an
already etched plate you must now repeat
stages 1-4. If it has not been etched beforehand you are ready to work in the plate.
+ optional points
If you prefer an black surface, paint it
over with diluted black gouache or spray
it on with an air-brush. For brushing
dilute 1 part of gouache with 1 part of
deminera-lised water. For spraying dilute
with 2-3 parts of water.
The gouache dries in a couple of minutes
in the drying cabinet.
The black coat should be removed with
lukewarm water and detergent before
etching so that it will not ruin the ferric.