Abstract: A method is described for applying liquid to flexible sheets, as in staining medical specimens afixed to thin flexible slides. In platen staining methods, flexible slides are centrally curved downward by the attraction of liquid between the slide and platen, thereby damaging the specimen. The invention prevents this damage by placing a glass slide on top of the flexible slide and interjecting a liquid such as alcohol in between. The flexible slide, which acts as a barrier between the two liquid layers, is pulled upward from a platen by the attraction to the overlying liquid.