Jon Pop Posted October 16, 2011 Share #1 Posted October 16, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) There's lots of advice out there about how to avoid getting water spots on negatives during drying, but I'd welcome any more people can give me. I'm always using a few drops of Ilfotol in the final rinse, and for the rinse water although it isn't lab water, I do filter it thru a Brita. I've tried squeegee, and not. Tried drying the strip at a slight angle, and not. Filled the bathroom with steamy air from the shower, and not. It's hit and miss, but I consistently get scattered marks down the centre of the negative. I shoot all kinds of film (Delta 100, 400, 3200, Tmax400, HP5+, PanF+...it doesn't make any difference). Drives me crazy !! The fortunate thing is most of these occur on the non-emulsion side of the negative. Which brings me to my second question....although I'd love to avoid getting the marks in the first place, what can I do to remove them? I have tried rubbing (gently of course) with an Ilford Antistaticum cloth, but is there any sort of solution that could help? Looking forward to your advice!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 16, 2011 Posted October 16, 2011 Hi Jon Pop, Take a look here Waterspots on negatives....help!!. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
pop Posted October 16, 2011 Share #2 Posted October 16, 2011 Hello near-namesake The most important part of the answer lies in the title of your thread. Obviously, what you see on your negatives are not water spots. Water dries without leaving any spots. What you see are what remains after the water has evaporated. If you are plagued consistently with residue on your negatives, it's your water supply which appears to be tainted. Try using distilled water (or a reasonable substitute) for the last bath for your negatives. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Pop Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted October 16, 2011 Yeah...I figured that. I'll get some distilled water as you suggest; it will probably help a great deal. I know we do have hard water here. Do you know of anything to clean the residue that's been left behind? Cheers! Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted October 16, 2011 Share #4 Posted October 16, 2011 A clean water soak with something like Photo-flow before hanging the film will suffice. Remember, Photo-flow 1:200 really means a dilution of 1:200 (flow,water). Now, 'clean water' in my case means distilled water. I have a distiller. An alternative is if you have a dehumidifier in the house, you can use that water instead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Pop Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share #5 Posted October 16, 2011 Thanks Pico...I've used Photoflo (with that dilution) as well as Ilfotol with its prescribed dilution. I think I've really got to get distilled water for starters from the sounds of it. Can I re-rinse the negatives in the hopes of removing the existing spots? Or is there a solution I can use to remove them after the fact, as well as on old negatives? Let me know. Cheers, Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted October 16, 2011 Share #6 Posted October 16, 2011 Thanks Pico...I've used Photoflo (with that dilution) as well as Ilfotol with its prescribed dilution. I think I've really got to get distilled water for starters from the sounds of it. Can I re-rinse the negatives in the hopes of removing the existing spots? Or is there a solution I can use to remove them after the fact, as well as on old negatives? Let me know.Cheers, Jon Yes, you can re-rinse the negatives. I'd run them through some tap water to take advantage of the minerals in hard water to clean them before rinsing in distilled water with photo-flow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbretteville Posted October 17, 2011 Share #7 Posted October 17, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) After wash/rinse in running water, I use battery water for the final 1 minute rinse with a drop of Tetenal Mirasol. Carl Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
radfilm Posted October 17, 2011 Share #8 Posted October 17, 2011 I had water spots as well and using only distilled water solved all my problems. I felt the same way the OP felt. It really is the best way to go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert blu Posted October 17, 2011 Share #9 Posted October 17, 2011 I had a similar problem and at the end my solution has been, as suggested a final rinse with distilled water and some wetting agent, after that before hanging the film (I hang it in the wet shower box) I put the spiral with the film in a salad spinner and spin it for 30/40 sec in order to throw away the water drops. I laughed first time I heard this but it works! robert PS: If you try please put an empty spiral in front of the one with the film in order to counterbalance the weight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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