If your stretcher bars have edges that are too sharp you may get cracks at the edges when you stretch a varnished giclée. Cracks also happen if the varnish is too hard and brittle.
If this happens you can fix the problem using Q-Tips® or other cotton swabs with transparent watercolor dyes like the Dr. P.Hh.Martin® brand (Easter-egg or cake icing colors also work well).
Using colors that are close to and slightly darker than those surrounding the cracks, work the color into the cracks with the cotton swab and your finger tips.
The water-color dyes only absorb into the cracks where the canvas paper is exposed. The varnished parts repel watercolors. If you want to touch-up the varnished parts, use oil-based colors or acrylics.
At Vashon Island Imaging we apply an additional two coats of varnished over the stretched giclée after the color has been added to the cracks to seal them so there are no breaks in the surface that might allow ingress of air pollutants and moisture.
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