Transfer to Polaroid

Everybody knows what a Polaroid transfer is but what is a Transfer to Polaroid?
Ok, so this is what it’s all about:
A few days ago I realized I kept around a few Polaroids that didn’t turn out good; some of them didn’t even develop. Why I kept them is a whole different issue, but the fact is that I did and now I was looking at these Polaroids thinking “hmmmm.. there must be Something I can do with these nogoodniks… but what?”
And then, as it often happens, I had a marvelous idea; how about transferring an image onto the hopeless Polaroid, so the Polaroid acts as the receiving surface. What a brilliant idea! I thought to myself.
(As you see, I was quite impressed with myself.)
But anyway, now to the technical details:
1. In order to prepare the Polaroid to receive the image it is necessary to de-gloss the surface by lightly sanding it.
2. The next step in preparation is to coat the image area of the Polaroid with Gesso so the surface is unified.
3. After choosing the image to transfer it is important to trim it to the size of the Polaroid.
4. After covering the image with Mod Podge or any other gel medium it is placed face down and pressed onto the Polaroid.
5. The transfer must be completely dry before spraying the back of the transfer with water and removing the access paper to reveal the transfer.
6. When spraying the final transfer Polaroid with clear protective spray it’s a good idea to use a gloss finish to restore the appearance of the Polaroid’s original shine.

The really cool thing about this transfer technique is that after it is done you end up holding an actual Polaroid in your hand.

{Let me know if anything is unclear as I don’t think you’ll find any information about this process anywhere else }

2 Responses to “Transfer to Polaroid”

1. Gillian says:

   January 20, 2010 at 7:49 pm

   Interesting!
   Can’t wait to try this one!
2. Mike F. says:

   January 22, 2010 at 4:19 pm

   This just proves what I’ve know for a long time… Nitsa is a genius!