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Ultra Abbreviated 10 Steps to Printing in Platinum/Palladium on Wood Surfaces*

1. To Baltic birch plywood or a cradled birch wood art panel, apply a stain prep and allow to dry for approximately 2 hours. Lightly sand with a fine grit abrasive. Then, apply white pickle stain and wipe off after approximately 30 seconds. Allow to dry over night.
2. Lightly sand until satiny smooth. Then, apply polyvinyl alcohol size and allow to dry overnight.
3. Lightly sand again. Lightly humidify in ultrasonic mist and apply the Platinum/Palladium metallic salt sensitizing solution used for the Na2 platinum/palladium process.
4. After the sensitizer is dry, expose to ultraviolet light about 2.5x the exposure for paper.
5. Develop with potassium oxalate as normal except that, after pouring, reverse the panel so that the photographic surface is facedown for about 30 seconds to maintain continuous exposure to developer.
6. Wash under running water for about one minute.
7. Clear face down in a large volume of clearing agent. I use two successive 5 liter baths Kodak Hypoclear, for about 10 minutes each, gently agitating every minute.
8. Place in a running water bath for approximately 10 minutes.
9. Drain all excess water from the print surface and place in print dryer for 3 days.
10. When completely dry, finish with varnish (I use Archival Acrylic Satin spray for the print surface.) Dry overnight and repeat. Then, on art panels, varnish the edge with a compatible brush-on varnish such as Liquitex® Acrylic.

*Assumes familiarity with Platinum/Palladium printing in general and with the Na2 process in particular.