Best way to clean water spots from negatives

In the continuing battle with dust, water marks and drying - I'm now

trying a final rinse using distilled water and a few drops of PhotoFlo

and then drying the negatives in a hanging "dress bag."

 

But I've discovered that much of what I formerly thought was dust on

the emulsion side is actually water/photo flo residue mostly on the

base side of the negative.

 

So now I'm revisiting some old frames and attempting a rescue. Recent

attempts to rewash the cut negatives weren't so successful (another

story).

 

So I just tried wiping off the base side of the negative with some

water and toilet paper. Eureka! Showed some marked improvement.

 

So my question - what's the best (safest) way to clean up water

residue from a negative in this fashion? What solution and clean tool

would be most effective and least damaging to the negative?

 

Sorry for the long winded post. Of course, my forward looking goal is

still spotless dried negatives :-)

 

Scott

I gave up on photoflo on the advice of a trusted colleage who is a terrific photographer and master printer. I now use a distilled water rinse for 60 seconds in a jobo, after washing the negatives. I hang them in my darkroom which I immediately vacate to avoid stirring up anything. This approach as worked for a number of years.

 

Eric

try photo wipes on the non-emulsion side. YOu may also consider using Edwal photo flo product. we ran some test with it and distilled water with great success.

Photo flow doesn`t leave spots. Marks on the emulsion are silver particles precipitated from used fixer or dirt in a processing solution. don`t reuse fix after it stands more than 24 hrs.

 

Clean all your bottles or buy new. Put a water filter 3 micron in the incoming line to darkroom. filter all water including wash water. store filtered water in old distilled water bottles. get a air filter for the darkroom. clean the floor, shelves, ceiling, and walls. Get rid of dust. There is no guarantee the inside of a garment bag is dust free.

 

stop wiping down film to speed drying. any squeegee or sponge can be contaminated. if there is debris on the film, and device will drag it down and you get a full length scratch instead of a spot.

 

buy an ear syringe from the drug store, clean the inside, and rinse down the wet film top down. Rinse with water after use. residual photo flow will contaminate the next film.

 

NOT ENOUGH photo flow WILL leave spots. Mix atleast 1:400 or use recommended 1:200. A few drops seems to be ineffective in causing the water to sheet off.

 

the bottom line is to get rid of all the dirt from places you never thought of. I had all your problems until I started with all the practices I outlined.

The trick to using PhotoFlo successfully is to use enough to get the water to sheet off the film, but not enough to cause the solution to foam. That takes a bit of experimentation, since water supplies vary, but 1+400 is a good starting point. Add more water until you notice that the water starts forming droplets on the film. I've also found that substituting anywhere from 100ml to 150ml per litre of clear rubbing alcohol for water helps the film dry a bit faster and and keeps the dreaded "floaties" from forming in the solution. I can use the same litre of working solution PhotoFlo for well over 20 rolls of film with no ill effects with this recipe.

I use photoflo 200 at the recommended dilution with moderately hard water. I use a standard water filter (without which I have deposits on my film) and I never have water spots or any deposits on my B&W film.

 

I use standard stabilizers for color films (which use photo flo and other chemicals) and never get spots there either.

 

In addition, I never have gunk build up.

 

I have used Jobo reels for more than 20 years, and SS reels for longer and have no gunk and no spots.

 

Photo flo will not leave spots even with moderately hard water. It is a problem with suspended particles in most water supplies or suspended material such as calcium salts or sulfur in developers, stops, or fix baths.

 

Ron Mowrey

Edwal used to make a film cleaner.I have used this is the past to clean just about anything off of film. I don't know if they still make it or not.

Wow! Thanks for all the great advice. Lots to print out and digest here.

 

Looks like I'm not the only soldier in the battle against dust, water spots, particles and the like :-)

 

Scott

I run the shower for 1/2 hr before drying my film in the bathroom. The steam cleans the dust from the air and weights it down on the ground (not that my bathroom is particularly dusty anyway!). The humidity helps the flim dry evenly too. I use Ilford Ilfotol wetting agent and wipe once with a lint-free cloth immediately after hanging, then hang a small weight on the bottom and leave for a couple of hours to dry.

I Threw the photo flo into the trash some 50 years ago and since then I pour out the wash water from my SS 35 mm tank and pour in ordinary inexpensive rubbing alcohol ( it goes on special often at 50 cents a bottle), let soak for a minute, then hang film in my old ironing board closet I built into the wall of my darkroom. Never a spot or dust ( well almost never)!

Scott,

 

Here is a BIG one...you might be chasing your tail with some of the other (excellent

however) advice.

 

What type of FIlm clip are you using? I used to have problems with spots...I use Patterson

Clips that have two little 'nails' that puncture the Film.

 

When I put the Clip on the Film, I grasp the Film under the water and grab the tip of the

Film with the Clip. I found that if anything touches the Film (without being rinsed) it will

create an area of buildup on the FIlm that will then tend to run down the length of your

Film unevenly.

 

I use Tap water and Ilfotol (Ilford's Photoflo).

 

NO SPOTS EVER. And I don't wipe the Film...it hangs in my dirty Humid basement.

 

jmp

Although I use a Tetenal wetting agent, I often get base-side deposits.

A light rub with a soft,dry cloth removes them easily..

hi scott,

I had (have) the same problem. Somebody gave me an advice to try spirit. After the film is dry, I clean non-emulsion side by micro-fiber rodenstock cloth with spirit (alcohol). It works very well and it doesn't damage the film. Try it

<p>This is my way - and it works quite well.<br>

Develop normally, rinse normally, then finish off with ONE drop of Photo-Flo in the tank water. Twiddle the reel around gently, do not allow it to foam. Use a clean (ie new) kitchen sponge (the throw away type that you would use to clean off a work surface). This should have FIRST been immersed in the rinse water That had the one drop of Photo Flo. Wipe the film in one continuous movement from top to bottom. This gets most of the water off. Use a Kanebo synthetic "PLAS CHAMOIS" (available from auto accessory shops). This should have been also immersed in the rinse water and very firmly wrung out. The chamois should only have a definite dampness to it. This also should wipe the film from top to bottom in one continuous movement.<br>

Hang the negs up to dry, weighted at the end. The negs will actually look dry - ie there should be zero water spots on either the emuslion or alternate (shiny) surface. The negs will dry very quickly - by which I mean within an hour. They will be free of water marks. If they are not, you probably had either the sponge or the chamois too wet. (or you had excess water on your hands). Bear in mind that dense negatives (counterintuitively) show up dust far more than "thin" negatives. - So keep your exposures minimal, just preserving a slight"draw" in the shadow parts of the negative. If watermarks remain, polish off, whilst wearing cotton gloves, using an Ilford Antistatic (or other quality make) cloth. Polishing will inevitably lead to very fine scratches. These should not show up on scanning or enlargement. If possible use an opaque piece of plastic over the neg whilst scanning. This reduces the effect of dust and imperfections. Condenser enlargers show up dust fearfully but give sharper results. If dus remains a problem, consider a diffusor enlarger. Don't underestimate the benefits of a camel hair blower brush. The end of the bristles should push the dust away from you, never towards. (otherwise you will draw the dust particles along the negative surface). Using this technique, I rarely have to even spot my prints or Photoshop them.<br />Ian,<br />Queensland, Australia</p>