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Can drying stains on a neg be removed?


cbretteville

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I developed some film a few days ago that for some reason have drying stains, haven't seen them for a very long time. Don't understand why as I followed the same procedure as I normally do with regards to washing and drying. I used Mirasol in the final water as always before shaking off water and reversing the film onto the reel for drying. The "unusual" bit about this run was that it was a film I hadn't souped before; Rollei ATP 1.1.

 

Now that the stains are there, does anyone have a way of getting rid of them?

 

Thanks,

Carl

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x

Soak them again for half an hour and then re-dry?

 

I finish my negs in two drops of Photoflo per film, sharply tap the reel onto a teatowel, then hang the film from a coat hanger above a radiator. It dries within half an hour, and I very rarely get water marks, spots or dust

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I started getting a few drying marks again recently. So I've changed what I do. I still put a couple of drops of photoflo into the final rinse. I then hang the film up. Once it's hung up, I take a Pecpad, wet this with a few drops of my LP record cleaning solution* and wipe the wet hanging film with the moistened Pecpad. I haven't had any drying marks since.

 

* to clean my LPs, I use 4 parts distilled water to 1 part 70% isopropanol with a few drops of Photoflo per litre. A lot of people use this sort of home brew mix to clean their LPs; you don't want any residue in the grooves of your LP and it doesn't leave any on my negatives either!

 

Best wishes,

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* to clean my LPs, I use 4 parts distilled water to 1 part 70% isopropanol with a few drops of Photoflo per litre. A lot of people use this sort of home brew mix to clean their LPs; you don't want any residue in the grooves of your LP and it doesn't leave any on my negatives either!

 

I use the same formula (substituting mild green Fairy Liquid for the Photoflo) for cleaning spectacles and monitors.:)

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that for some reason have drying stains, haven't seen them for a very long time. Don't understand why as I followed the same procedure as I normally do with regards to washing and drying.

l

 

Hi

 

This could be variable water quality, hard water is much more likely to leave stains than soft. If you get the effect intermittently you may need to try deionised as a final rinse, you can use it over and over.

 

If you call the water suppler they may confirm.

 

Noel

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Hi Andy

 

Correct, but the origonal question had been answered already.

He did not ask why he suddently got marks & several people in my locality have variable water quality...

 

Noel

 

Noel,

What is puzzling is that I souped 11 rolls last week and I used the same wash/rinse regime in all of the 5 batches. I haven't scanned all of them yet, but I have looked for stains on the other rolls. It seems that this one roll of Rollei ATP is the only one affected. I usually don't have any problem with this so it has taken me by surprise.

 

Carl

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Soak them again for half an hour and then re-dry?

 

I finish my negs in two drops of Photoflo per film, sharply tap the reel onto a teatowel, then hang the film from a coat hanger above a radiator. It dries within half an hour, and I very rarely get water marks, spots or dust

 

Thanks Andy - it's these small details, that one reads, sees or hears about, that make a process so much better ;-)

 

This of course is of the "slap your forehead, why didn't I come to that myself - sort".

 

Thanks

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Hi Carl

 

I understand your position

 

One of my friends has/had a problem with white spots on his Tri-x, i.e. only on his Tri-x none of the other film type he uses, he did not want to stop using Tri-x so he solved it with a last rinse in deionised, the white spots probably CalciumCarbonate coming out of solution, which only liked the tri-x... A`filter might have worked...

 

I know you live in No and the water may be softer, but aparently film can be strange stuff.

 

Another friend has intervals when he needs to descale kettles and then not, he now always uses a last rinse in deionised, to avoid drying marks.

 

Cant offer you more help than that sorry.

 

Noel

P.S. I'd not recommend my technique of a film squeegee, cause lots of people will say scratches...

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To continue the wider discussion on keeping the film clean and clear of spots or dust I'd recommend getting a piece of new drain pipe and cutting it to about 5ft long , i.e a few inches longer than the length of 40 frames. I then used a pencil and a couple of clothes pegs to peg each end and hang the film to dry inside the pipe. The pipe is then stood vertical over a bowl or bucket in the corner of the bathroom. That way you don't get any dust particles that are present in the air rising up from warm carpets and radiators circulating the dust and wool specs etc. Yes it will take longer to dry but the easier scanning with less spot and patching will save time later.

 

In SW England we have very hard water so using some distilled water ( or a bottle of highland spring water if my Whisky doesn't need it ) could be a good solution ! I remember if I used too much whetting agent (soap?) that too could cause patches/stains as the CaCO3 dries.

 

I'm not sure how photo chemistry would work with water from a water softener, if the Na+ ions would cause any problems or if they help dev, stop, fix, bath?

 

Regards, Lincoln

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carl, over the years I have set up and redone dedicated darkrooms of varying standards. What I learned was that the single greatest improvement with washing film was the use of a good filter in the line. This has always needed to to be done in conjunction with a good wetting agent and an efficient drying method.

 

Despite all that, I found occassional works by local water authorities digging up pipes could suddenly and briefly upset my finely balanced system by 'flooding' the supply with extaneous detritous. This may be a possible source of your one time woes.

 

OTOH, I found that different films require different handling from some others. eg. Kodak T-Max requires much more vigorous and prolonged agitation when fixing.

 

Before I switched to automated processing, my 'hand tank' washing method moved away from the running water through a tube into the central column of the tank for say 20minutes. Very inefficient and wastful of water. More economical and more efficient was filling the tank by hand with water. Invert say 5 times and dump the water. Repeat that procedure five times and then finish with a final rinse with a good wetting agent. Much faster and saves considerable amount of water, as well as better washing. Method recommended by Ilford.

 

Next, hold the film by both ends (you do need a good wingspan!) and 'snap' it seveal time to flick of excess water. Then hang in a clean warm environment to dry. I use an old(very) vertical clothes drying cabinet converted to hold film. I leave the door ajar to prevent over heating of the film.

 

The use of the Rollei film "could" be a clue for you. It may just need a varied treatment from what you are accustomed to. My simplest bet would be to try an extended or more intensified wshing regime for that film.

 

I hope some of the above may give you a guide to your solution.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I regulary use alcohol on a clean linen cloth and wipe the stains of the negatives. Wipe only the blank side of the neagives, not the other side.

 

Do not soak the negatives, use only a small amount of clean alcohol. They dries quickly and all stains and dust specks are removed!:)

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