----- Original Message ----- From: "Janet Cull" <janetgcull@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2010 12:28 PM Subject: [pure-silver] Re: chips in bottom of fixer bottle
It's dark brown (so I can't see really well to the bottom) plastic. I put hot water in and agitate it. Yes, they're very thin dark slivers - presumably from the bottom. I don't know if they were safe lying there, but I've broken and stirred them up - or if tiny particles of *that* were my trouble before. If I had a way to get a new one right now I would just toss that bottle and start over. For now I'm holding off on processing film. I don't want more gunk on my film.Its hard to know exactly what it is but likely its sulfided silver. You can try household bleach to remove it. Let the bleach soak for a few hours and wash out with hot water. If the bottle is such that you can't scrub the insides with a brush try marbles or steel shot. I have no idea where one obtains marbles these days but shot should not be too difficult to find. The old standby for cleaning is "chromic acid" cleaner. This was the standard for cleaning laboratory glassware for generations.I just wanted to know if that was unusual to find, if you all encountered that, or how you avoided it.
Kodak Tray Cleaner TC-1 Water 1.0 liter Potassium dichromate 90.0 grams Sulfuric acid, concentrated 96.0 mlSwirl this stuff around in the bottle for a time and rinse thoroughly with water. The cleaner can be re-used until it no longer works.
Another cleaner which may work better for silver sulfide stains is the following. It can also be used on hands:
Kodak TC-3 Tray and Hand Cleaner Solution A Water 1.0 liter Potassium permanganate 2.0 grams Sulfuric acid, concentrated 4.0 mlStore this solution in a stoppered bottle away from the light.
Solution B Water 1.0 liter Sodium bisulfate 30.0 grams Sodium sulfite, desiccated 30.0 gramsBoth solutions can be used for several vessels but should be discarded after use.
An acid fixing solution can be used in place of Solution B but it is important to wash thoroughly to eliminate the hypo from the tray or hands.
To clean trays" To remove stains due to silver, silver sulfide, and many dyes, pour a small quantity of Solution A into the vessel and allow to remain for a few minutes; rinse well and then replace with a similar volume of Solution B. Agitate so as to clear the brown stain completely, they wash thoroughly.
-- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USAdickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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