Aerosol Spot Removers

Spotters, aerosol spot removers, and fabric stain remover are important tools to have in your arsenal of screen printing supplies. After the printing process, ghost images or haze can be left on the mesh stencil. Made up of microscopic residues of ink or other products, these stains can affect how ink flows through the stencil, potentially causing the ghost image to actually print right along with your new design. Consequently, quality fabric stain removers are very important to prevent this from happening.

Pull Out Premium Spot Remover (Not for sale in California)

$169.95

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Pull Out Ultimate Spot Remover - 50 State VOC Compliant (12 Cans per Case)

$199.95

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Discovery Aerosol

~~$139.95~~ $129.00 Sale

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Pull Out 2 - Powdered Spot Remover (Not for sale in California)

~~$159.95~~ $149.95 Sale

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As a general rule of thumb, if the stain is the same as the print, then it came from the ink you used. If it is a negative image of the print, the stain came from the stencil itself.

Two Types of Stencil Stains

Here are the two main types of stencil stains.

Diazo stains are from chemical dyes that are very effective at dyeing polyester mesh. These stains can be easily removed using a sodium hypochlorite-based haze fabric stain remover.
Fused acetate stains are light colored, translucent residue left on your screen where the stencil was. These stains can be removed with a hypochlorite-based haze remover that has been activated with the recommended screen wash or ‘activator’.

Note that it is more effective and easier to remove stencil stains immediately following use, while the screens are still wet. Allowing them to dry fully hardens the acetate, making it difficult to remove.

Five Main Types of Ink Stain

There are about five main types of ink stains.

Dried-in ink — Very easy to see, most dried inks can be dissolved using a screen wash solvent. Stubborn stains might require a more caustic solvent haze remover.
Hardened ink — Two-pack catalyzed inks are infamously difficult to remove. You need a very high caustic and solvent haze remover.
UV cured ink — Ideally, you shouldn't leave this ink in a white-light area, as the ink will harden and become difficult to remove. Use a hypochlorite-based haze remover with an ‘activator’ added to eliminate stains.
Ink staining of mesh fibers - Some inks actually dye the polyester thread used in the mesh. If this happens, you can only remove the stain with a hypochlorite-based haze remover with ‘activator’ added, or a very strong caustic haze remover. Unfortunately, you can't use a basic fabric stain remover.
Mechanical abrasion of mesh fibers - While not strictly a mesh stain, the ghost images on fibers are rare and typically caused by printing long runs with an abrasive ink. A haze remover or a fabric stain remover will have no effect on this type of stain. Your best bet is to simply discard the mesh after printing.

Safety First

Always read the Safety Data Sheets before using a fabric stain remover for ghosts and haze. These powerful chemicals must be handled carefully and only while using protective equipment. Always rinse thoroughly.To be prepared, you should always have a wide selection of fabric stain remover for your screen printing business. Each spot remover functions differently on different stains, and you need to be prepared. Check the fabric you’re printing to and select the spot remover that works best for that fabric and the ink you have used. If you have questions, contact us directly. At American Niagara, we focus on providing quality screen printing supplies for our clients.

Aerosol Spot Removers

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