Grab bag of old chemicals... what are they and are they still good?

[terry_stedman]

I'm the student TA for the student darkroom at my (tiny) college, and

today I discovered one of the perks for being "the" darkroom guy on

campus. I walked into my dorm room and found on my floor a box

chock-full of photo-chemicals. Not quite sure where they came from,

and even what some of them are. I'd like some help figuring out how

old these chems are, and of course if they're of any use.

 

I have:

 

A metal can of Kodak DK-50 (for films and plates). It's "3.5 gallon

size" and is about the size of a progresso can of clam chowder. It's

got an old-school font on it, but I can't find a date. Glued to the

bottom is a weird device that looks like I'm supposed to open the can

with.

 

A metal can of DK-50, different type face and design from the first

one, "for continuous tone negatives." Its maybe a little smaller than

a campbell's can of soup. It says its a "split level can" which I

think means there's two compartments inside it. It doesn't come with

anything to open it with.

 

Two identical metal cans of d-76 developer "for maximum film speed and

moderately fine grain." they're 7 ounces each. One the back it gives

development times for Panatomic-X verichrome pan film, Plus-X film,

Tri-X, and infrared. There's some sort of crazy turing-tab thing at

the top for opening the can.

 

This one is a complete mystery to me. Its a metal can with a closable

top, and on it it says "U-tech" and "423 Panel Activator," which I'm

supposed to add to 4 parts 421 clearcoat, to create... something.

Whatever is inside contains: Methyl Isobutyl Ketone, Ethyl

3-Erhoxypropionate, Alipathic Polyisocyanate, Xylene, and N-Butyl

Acetate. The container contains half a pint of this stuff.

 

2 small glass jars of kodak film cleaner. There's no date on it. How

long are these good for?

 

A bag of d-76 developer. No date. how long is this good for/what is

the chance this stuff is still good? the only remarkable thing on the

bag is the cat number, 146 4817.

 

A bag of kodak hypo clearing agent. Again, no date; how long is this

good for as unopened powder? cat 153 3942.

 

A few tiny bags of "perfection XR-1 extended range black and white

film developer." I have no idea what this stuff is. Also no date,

how long is the powder good for?

 

A plastic jug of HC-110. Looks old, but this stuff lasts forever,

right? It's apparently unopened.

 

A plastic container of Ilford IN-1 stop bath. I think it's been

opened; it has "PH-3" written on the bottom, which sounds ominous to

me. It has a date on it: 2/25/99. This stuff still good?

 

A plastic container of Kodak indicator stop bath. It looks incredibly

old, the paper on the sides has old, hard mold on it. The stuff has

an amber color.

 

A plastic container of Ilford Ilfobrom stop bath. Is this a normal

stop bath? Feels like it's been opened, no idea if its good or not.

 

Two platic containers of Ilford Universal paper developer. One feels

full, the other half-empty. They have the same date on them: 2/25/99.

They also have "PH-11" written on them.

 

Two plastic containers of Ilford Multigrade fixer. One, half empty,

has the sate 2/25/99 on it, and the other, which sounds full, has 9/99

on it. Both say PH 6 on the bottom.

 

A plastic milk-gallon size jug of Kodak RA 3000 fixer (hardener) part

B. Its half empty, no date. Is this any use to a black and white

darkroom guy? Scarily, it says PH 0 (I kid you not) on the bottom.

 

Whew, thats it. Crazy stuff huh? Any tips on what I can do with this

stuff would be more than welcome.

 

Thanks!

[john_shriver]

The Kodak developers in cans are collectibles by now. They might even still be good, that was a darned good seal.

 

Kodak film cleaner keeps. If they are older, they may use older, now strictly regulated, solvents that are more effective. (Depends on how "green" you are.)

 

I would treat that "panel activator" as hazardous waste.

 

Indicator stop bath is supposed to be yellow. Stop baths should keep forever.

 

RA 3000 fixer is obsolete, from Type R reversal color paper process, which is gone.

[jim_appleyard]

Your film devs. may or may not still be good. You can try them on test rolls of film or do what I do as use them as paper devs. I'm currently using a pound of glycin (amongst other chems and mixed up as Ansco 130) that looks like Nestle's Quick . It only has a working life of a few hours, but it works just fine. After the glycin is gone it's the Rodinal in the glass bottle with the cork, the D-76 in divided glass jars...

[conrad_hoffman]

That panel activator sounds like one part of a two part automotive paint system. Nasty stuff. The developers may or may not be good, but it may not be worth it to test them. Not sure if anybody uses DK-50 anymore, but it was ok in its day. Not super fine grain or super anything else. HC-110 supposedly changed formulations several times in the past, so I wouldn't trust that one either. You probably can't hurt HCA or stop baths, so those are worth a try.

[dean_williams]

Most of the stuff in sealed containers is possibly good, and the stop bath should be. The HC 110 should be ok, but run a test strip to be sure. If the Kodak cans are really old, they may be of interest to collectors. Check ebay for something similar. You may be able to sell it for enough to buy a bunch of new chems.

 

The Panel activator sounds like a composite resin kicker used for curing certain resins. I would take it to a disposal center and let them deal with it if I weren't sure of what I had. Some of the ketones are pretty bad for you, so it's probably best to leave it unopened. We used a ketone based activator to cure polyester resin at a place I once worked. A couple of pints would cure out 55 gallons of resin rock hard in a couple of hours. Very concentrated.

[michael_goldfarb]

Just to add a comment re the DK-50...

 

My dad the retired pro used this stuff for as far back as I can remember to develop 4x5in and 6x9cm sheet film (Plus-X, Tri-X, Ektapan) in deep tanks. It's fast-working (e.g., 5 or 6 minutes at 68 for PX) and pretty harsh, and it doesn't produce fine grain - which was never an issue with 4x5 sheets. Even if it's still good (which is definitely possible in those vacuum-sealed cans), I wouldn't suggest using it for anything smaller than 120 film, unless you're actively looking for visible grain.

 

But it's probably still a solid choice for sheet film...