Gesso

I was wondering if it's possible to put gesso on some water color paper I have that is 98# (i don't know what the 98# is identifying about the paper, is it thickness or something?)

I picked some up the other day and tried painting it on a piece of paper taped around all 4 sides to a piece of cardboard that I paint on and when I was done the piece of paper looked like curtains because of how much it warped. Did I put it on too thick? is there something I can do to the paper to make it work better? like gluing two pieces together or something? any advice would be appreciated, thanks!
 
@Jake H. You should wet watercolor paper first, then stretch it out and tape it down. This will help stop the buckling. I haven't tried gesso on water color paper, but it would kind of defeat the purpose of the paper. Watercolor paper has a particular texture and tooth.
 
@Jake H. You should wet watercolor paper first, then stretch it out and tape it down. This will help stop the buckling. I haven't tried gesso on water color paper, but it would kind of defeat the purpose of the paper. Watercolor paper has a particular texture and tooth.

I'll have to see if I can find some info online or a how to for stretching the paper out but I will give that a try. I wanted to try the gesso on the paper I have so I can erase and scratch, from what I've tried so far erasing the ink off paper hasn't worked so good so I thought I'd give the gesso a shot and see what it's like.
 
Here you go. But this will not do anything for the erasing problem. In order to erase, the paint must not be absorbed by the surface. If your paint is too thin, it will be absorbed more easily.
http://www.winsornewton.com/uk/disc...or-water-colour/stretching-water-colour-paper

Thanks! This whole time I was thinking the thinner the paint the easier it would erase, so you want thicker paint but a light coat right? Does the gesso make erasing possible or is it just so you can scratch?
 
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