Silk Painting: Guttas & Resists
The subject of resists can be confusing. What's a resist? What's gutta? All guttas are resists but not all resists are true guttas — and not all things called "gutta" are really truly gutta. To make things simpler, keep in mind that we carry only ONE real (solvent/rubber-based) gutta, made by the Jacquard company.
Of all the products Dharma carries, guttas and water-soluble resists are the most technically difficult to use successfully. Applying a gutta or resist takes practice and experimentation. It is an art form, and one shouldn't expect perfect results without practice. We suggest buying gutta and resists in small experimental quantities until you find the ones that work for you. Take classes, buy books, talk to other silk painters, and have fun!
Basically, a resist is anything that prevents dye from reaching the fabric — it resists the dye. There are two major categories of resists commonly used for silk painting: guttas and water-soluble resists.
Types of Resists
Clear Gutta
Solvent-based gutta is a thick substance derived from Indonesian rubber trees (Gutta Percha). It is used almost exclusively for the French Serti technique of painting on silk. Gutta comes in clear, black, gold metallic and silver metallic. It has a rubbery feel to it, in contrast to the smooth drape of silk. Clear gutta is meant to be removed after the dye or paint has been fixed — by dry cleaning only. Guttas are thinned and cleaned up with gutta solvent. They have roughly a 6-month shelf life, which can be prolonged by storing in a cool, dark place. Heat and light can make them go bad quickly. Due to their flammability, guttas can only ship by UPS ground.
Black, Silver and Gold Gutta
Black, gold and silver guttas are used when a non-white defining line is desired. Colored guttas are meant to remain on the silk, which will leave some "hand" or "feel" on the fabric. They cannot be dry cleaned — the color in the gutta will be removed along with the gutta itself. The gold and silver guttas are dramatically beautiful, but the metallics can sometimes flake off over time. If you want colored lines and the ability to dry clean, use a water-based resist instead.
Clear Water-Soluble (Gutta-Like) Resists
For some people, dry cleaning to remove clear gutta isn't convenient or feasible, or the fumes are a problem, or they're teaching a class. Clear water-based resist is removed by rinsing in warm water and is fume-free. It comes out easily when used with iron-set paints, but some brands can be difficult to remove after steam-setting dyes — because of this, we recommend using iron-set silk paints with water-based resists. We think long steaming times and/or hard water may account for the issues some folks have had. The manufacturers of the current water-based resists we sell say this has been fixed through reformulating.
Some artists feel that clear water-based resists do not hold the line as well as gutta. Care must be taken to avoid flooding the line with paint, which would begin to dissolve the resist. Water-based resists work great with iron-set silk paints like Dye-na-Flow and SetaSilk. They rinse out nicely when not steamed, have no fumes, can ship by air, and are generally lower-priced than guttas.
Gold, Silver, Black & Colored Water-Soluble (Gutta-Like) Resists
The big advantage with these metallic resists is that they can be dry cleaned. These colored resists require heat-setting with an iron before applying silk dye or paint, or before steaming. As with colored guttas, they are meant to remain on the fabric, creating some feel — but unlike true solvent guttas, they can withstand dry cleaning.
Waxes
Waxes can also be used on silk for batik. See our pages on waxes and batik for products and techniques.
All the guttas and resists we sell have been in use by artists for years and are considered the best choice by those who prefer that particular brand. It's up to you to determine which one works best in your specific circumstances. Good luck and have fun!
