Why is my Black Gutta sticky after steaming the silk?

Ever wondered, “Why is my Black Gutta sticky?”

Excellent question about painting on silk!

The answer may be harder to find.

Table of Contents

The first place to look for an answewr is on the bottle of Black Gutta:

did you follow the instructions exactly? If yes, go to the next step
is there a website link for the Manufacturer of the Black Gutta? If yes, visit the website and search for Support, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) or other links where you can post questions
take photos of your results on the silk, so you can share the photos with the Support Team on the Manufacturer’s website
as they are the people who have created the Gutta, they will know the answers to ALL your question, and will be able to help you.

the Gutta might be old
the Gutta might not have been stored in a cool, dark place (never leave it in a bright part of the Art Studio – always store in a cool, dark cupboard
if you mixed Black Silk Day with the Gutta, and they are different Brand names, they might not work well together
some Dry Cleaners may be able to remove the sticky Gutta – ask first
each brand of Gutta has its own unique properties and its own INSTRUCTIONS – double check before using to make sure you are followin the Instructions exactly
the silk used for the project can affect how easily the Gutta can penetrate the fibres
the weather can also play into how the Gutta works in your environment – humidity, dryness and heat can affect the Gutta
the thickness of the Gutta can definitely affect how it will work on a project; if necessary, “thin” the Gutta using the product/technique recommended by the Manufacturer
challenges may occur with steam setting, using a fixative or heat-setting on the silk, which in turn will have different effects on how well the silk washes and the resulting texture.

All art techniques take time to learn and master.

contact the Manufacturer
find online silk painting Groups and ask more experienced silk artist if they’ve experienced the same or similar issues
experiment with mall amounts of each product to see how the techniques work
create a Silk Painting Journal where you document each Project (even if it’s an experiment), and make notes of each product used and anything you did to mix or alter a product, even the order in which you applied certain colours to obtain a fabulous result … so that you can REPEAT that process successfully in the future 🙂