[pure-silver] Re: Weird Film Issue
- From: Tim Daneliuk <tundra@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 07 May 2012 10:33:09 -0500
On 05/07/2012 09:56 AM, Luis Miguel Castañeda wrote:
Acetic acid as is used as stop bath helps to clean those hard water deposits.
I avoid acetic acid for film stop because of the possibility -
however remote - of pinholing the negs. This was a way bigger
deal in the past than it is today, but my entire workflow
has been calibrated a particular way and I'm loathe to change it
at this point. I open tank process everything and use running
water as a stop bath.
I think the issue here is post washing technique. Local water
can have a lot of minerals that can leave deposits on your
film. So, a good post wash rise is in order. After the negs
are washed, I dip them in a distilled water Photo Flo solution
for 30 seconds. (My dev and fix are also mixed with distilled
water BTW.)
Sheet film gets hung from one corner at 45 degree angle so all the
water runs to the lower corner. After hanging there a few minutes,
I take a clean wadded up paper towel and just touch that corner
to wick away the drop of water. I repeat this until there is no
visible drop.
For 120/35mm on reels, I remove the reel from the PF solution
and "snap" them to get as much liquid out of the reel as I can.
Then, once the film is hanging, I dip my hand into the PF solution.
Using my index and second fingers like a "scissor" shape, I gently
wipe down both sides of the film simultaneously. Obviously, your
hands should be clean before you do this.
Using this approach, I have never had crud on my negative UNLESS
I don't use enough Photo Flo. PF is more-or-less just a surfactant
that reduces the surface tension of the water and causes it to drip
away more easily. If you don't have enough in your final rinse,
that won't happen. Then, depending on the mineral composition of
your water, you get crud on your film as the water settles there
and evaporates off. It's worth nothing that you get a different
kind of crud if you use too MUCH PF. With my old small bottle
of PF (the old amber glass type - I refill it from the newer plastic
bottles), I find about a half capfull per 16 oz is about right.
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Tim Daneliuk
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