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John King
17th July 2013, 02:10 PM
Here's a tip I can say works and works very well. My nova 4 Bath processor is elderly (A bit like me) and consequently has serious levels of tar on the developing slot and to a lesser degree on the stop bath and bleach slots too.

I had heard that it was mentioned that Phosphoric Acid was good for removing tar (Road chipping type) from areas of car paintwork. I happen to have a 1ltr bottle of Aluminium Cleaner (For car wheels) in the garage which is a week solution of Phosphoric Acid. I bought it years ago from Machine Mart where they sell it under the Trade name of Clarke's for about £6-£10.

I tried it on the float that goes over the developer slot and it dissolved the tar and staining almost immediately with no vigorous brushing needed. Far better than the stuff sold by NOVA to do the same job. And cheaper too!

There is virtually no offensive or toxic smell either, unlike NOVA'S product, so can almost certainly be used indoors and it doesn't foam up like it either plus it rinses off very easily. I am going to drain off the whole tank next week so will post a before and after picture to let you see how good it is.

Update I have just been onto their website and it is £4.43 per litre not £6 as I said before

Terry S
17th July 2013, 02:24 PM
I got a bottle of Nova cleaner with my unit when I bought it some years ago now (secondhand unit btw) and to date have not had to use it!

Saying that, maybe I need to have a closer look some time soon...

Sounds a bit of a better deal you got there though John.

Any more 'better than' deals to be passed on by others?

Terry S

B&W Neil
17th July 2013, 03:59 PM
Household bleach works well but of course use gloves and take sensible precautions. If you are not in hurry make up a weak bleach solution and fill up the slots with and leave it for a few days and that will do the job for you. I usually squirt a bit of thick bleach in each slot the carefully top up with cold tap water from a jug, then leave it for about a week. The lids can be placed in a tray and given the same treatment.

Plastic / nylon film spirals can also be cleaned up by the same method - use a bowl, large jug or tray to contain the spirals.

Neil.

JOReynolds
17th July 2013, 04:49 PM
Citric acid (5% solution, powder available from home-brew suppliers) removes tar effectively, if slowly at room temperature. The quickest method I ever saw was pure alcohol, distilled from the 1980s wine lake, at Kodak-Pathé in France.

Terry S
18th July 2013, 11:08 AM
Household bleach works well

I always thought that bleach just whitened and brightened things up?

Or does it actually DISSOLVE any tar residues etc?

Terry S

John King
18th July 2013, 12:23 PM
I always thought that bleach just whitened and brightened things up?

Or does it actually DISSOLVE any tar residues etc?

Terry S

Bleach will only whiten and brighten organic items or things made from organic materials.

B&W Neil
18th July 2013, 03:28 PM
I always thought that bleach just whitened and brightened things up?

Or does it actually DISSOLVE any tar residues etc?

Terry S



It works for me and has done over a large number of years.

If you have a seriously tarred up Nova you may need something stronger to give it the blunderbuss treatment to get it back to pristine condition. The secrete probably is to not let them get too bad and clean them regularly. That is the system I operate and it saves money to buy some film / paper :)

Neil.




Neil.

Mike O'Pray
18th July 2013, 03:43 PM
The something stronger with less apparent drawbacks than Nova's Tarbuster would appear to be what John initially suggested :D

In my case even strong bleach has a problem with one of my white tubes used to cover the fixer slot.

John I take it that you have used this product often enough to be sure that there is no adverse long term effect on the material in a Nova.

My guess is that within a few weeks any adverse effect would have manifested itself.

Certainly if you have one Nova only and use it for both colour and B&W and want a rapid turn-around then the stuff John mentions would seem best.

In my experience once the dev slot has been used for a few weeks on a colour run then the tar build up is high and bleach takes several days to clear it and even Nova Tarbuster takes maybe 24 hours or so

Mike

B&W Neil
18th July 2013, 05:15 PM
Well I did say I usually leave the items I wish to clean soaking for about a week. I have no experience of using bleach as lightening tar buster :)

Scrubbing tanks with a toothbrush or the like to get a quick job has no appeal to, which I've had to do with even some commercial products. If the job can be done just as well with a bit of time and little effort - that's for me everytime.

Neil.

Tony Marlow
18th July 2013, 05:31 PM
If the job can be done just as well with a bit of time and little effort - that's for me everytime.


Manana manana tut tut Neil, what an example to set the younger generation, what has happened to the work ethic. Roll up your sleeves and get stuck in.

Tony

B&W Neil
18th July 2013, 05:54 PM
Manana manana tut tut Neil, what an example to set the younger generation, what has happened to the work ethic. Roll up your sleeves and get stuck in.

Tony

Tony, I used to do that until I saw the light - that's f11 @ 250th :D


Neil.

Stocky
19th July 2013, 12:45 PM
I don't know about "tar" but my Nova gets pretty grubby from print developer and I use Steradent denture cleaner. Warm water, and put plenty in and leave for a few hours.

JOReynolds
20th July 2013, 01:00 PM
I heard that brands of EP3/EP2 chemistry (e.g. Champion/May & Baker) that claimed greatly reduced tarring contained an additive, ethylene glycol (antifreeze). Whether this would redissolve oxidised CD3/CD4 (tar), I don't know. Try it? What are the tanks made of?

John King
20th July 2013, 02:31 PM
As far as I know they are made from acrylic plastic sheeting bonded together with silicone. That stuff is pretty tough.