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-   -   Squeegee or not (http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.org.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=13702)

Martin Aislabie 5th May 2021 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Molli (Post 140051)
Everybody else has already answered the question of sqeegee-ing (supremely awkward word!), so I'll answer the water drops portion. I hang my negatives in the shower after running it to knock any dust down, as mentioned above. What I do to avoid water drying marks is tie a long piece of string to the bottom film clip and use it to angle the film, pinning the string to the floor with a handy bottle of hair conditioner or whatever else is within reach. By angling the film so that the long edge of the film is toward the floor, the water runs off to the sprocket holes and, even if it leaves a drying mark, it's outside of the image area.

Now that is a really great idea for those who don't have a film drying tent.

Martin

Mike O'Pray 5th May 2021 11:25 AM

Just out of curiosity, has anyone tried adding a few drops of isopropyl alcohol to wetting agent as an means of helping the water off the surface.

Now one for the Barry, I think. Why does the text put a red line under the word isopropyl? As far as I can ascertain this is the correct spelling in both U.K. English and U.S. English :)

Mike

Nat Polton 5th May 2021 03:24 PM

Mention of the ZEROSTAT Anti Static Gun reminded me of my attempts to see if anything was actually happening when I squeezed the trigger.

I took a neon indicator lamp from a scrapped electric kettle and twisted one lead so that it would connect with the the metal needle shrouded in the nozzle of the gun. When I squeezed the trigger the neon glowed.
Do not touch the bare wires when squeezing as it gave me an unexpected shock.

The other test that I tried was using Sellotape.
I have often seen the tape attract to itself after pulling a length from the roll, static being the obvious cause.

I peeled off a couple of strips about four inches long and stuck one end of each piece to the edge of a bookshelf.
The tape is slightly bowed, but when the gun is aimed at the strips the taped bends and unbends. So it is definitely having an effect.

I bought my gun probably about thirty years ago and it is still going strong.

As to squeegees, I had one but only used it a few times, as I never really trusted the thing.

I just hold the film by each end and see saw it through a pudding basin containing water and a drop of wetting agent. The way we developed film before developing tanks became the norm.
Once it is hung up I take hold of opposite edges of the film using forefinger and thumb and slide down the film once to run the heavy accumulation that forms at the edges.
No scratches and no water marks, but do go lightly with the wetting agent.


Cheers.

Terry S 6th May 2021 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike O'Pray (Post 140060)
Just out of curiosity, has anyone tried adding a few drops of isopropyl alcohol to wetting agent as an means of helping the water off the surface.

Now one for the Barry, I think. Why does the text put a red line under the word isopropyl? As far as I can ascertain this is the correct spelling in both U.K. English and U.S. English :)

Mike

Mike, in the distant past, after reading about what press photographers used to do, when they needed a film to print asap, I followed their lead and filled a developing tank FULL of isopropyl alcohol and then dunked a washed film in it for about a minute. The film definitely dried quicker. I only did it once or twice until I read somewhere about adverse effects to the films longevity, doing it this way. But I'm sure if the internet had been around, the following week I would have found something to say the opposite. I've never been in such a hurry since to process a film, so have not done this sequence since.

Oh, and as for the underlining of the words isopropyl alcohol, I found this advice in the English-Ukrainian Dictionary, of all places:

Translation memories are created by human, but computer aligned, which might cause mistakes. They come from many sources and are not checked. Be warned.

Terry S

Richard Gould 6th May 2021 02:29 PM

That's one way to do it, but in the very dim and distant past a local press photographer, needing to print for the evening paper, and with a very short deadline, rinsed the film, then soaked it in methylated sprits, the light the sprit with a match, film dried and was printed in 5 minutes, he made the deadline, I was there when it happened so I know it worked, but I have never found a need to try it myself
Richard

Nat Polton 6th May 2021 04:23 PM

I read about using alcohol on glass plates in a detective story that was written in Edwardian times.
The detective needed the prints urgently.
So the trick has been around for quite some time.

Cheers.

Mike O'Pray 6th May 2021 07:05 PM

Thanks all, and here was me thinking that a few drops might be used rather than a bucket full.

The meths trick must have been spectacular. I must admit that I consider my meths too precious for anything else other than using in it in cocktails

The purple coloured meths are ideal for "blue lagoons" :D

Mike

John King 10th January 2022 09:07 AM

Quick Drying
 
Some time ago (pre 2000) Tetenal used to market something called Drysonal. It was also claimed to have properties to be anti-static. I cannot remember it having any particular smell, but when I spilled a few drops it certainly evaporated quickly enough. I used one bottle of it but never used it again. It certainly worked with a 35mm film and reduced the drying to about 20 mins.

My darkroom at the time was in the loft. with it being blistering hot in summer an icicles on the end of your nose in winter. I had been plagued with dust at the time and yes the anti static did improve it a lot.

If you want to try Isopropyl alcohol the easiest place I have found to buy it is the country wide company of RS Components. I bought 2 litres last week because I make my own antivirus spray for surfaces and hands (70% alcohol 30% distilled water and even at £18 a litre still cheaper than a bought concoction).

UPDATE I have just googled Drysonal and it seems it may no longer be in production. There are references to it by mostly dated in the early 2000's and nothing on the Tetenal website that I can find

snusmumriken 10th January 2022 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John King (Post 143125)
Some time ago (pre 2000) Tetenal used to market something called Drysonal. It was also claimed to have properties to be anti-static. I cannot remember it having any particular smell, but when I spilled a few drops it certainly evaporated quickly enough. I used one bottle of it but never used it again. It certainly worked with a 35mm film and reduced the drying to about 20 mins.

My darkroom at the time was in the loft. with it being blistering hot in summer an icicles on the end of your nose in winter. I had been plagued with dust at the time and yes the anti static did improve it a lot.

If you want to try Isopropyl alcohol the easiest place I have found to buy it is the country wide company of RS Components. I bought 2 litres last week because I make my own antivirus spray for surfaces and hands (70% alcohol 30% distilled water and even at £18 a litre still cheaper than a bought concoction).

UPDATE I have just googled Drysonal and it seems it may no longer be in production. There are references to it by mostly dated in the early 2000's and nothing on the Tetenal website that I can find

I don't know about Drysonal, but this is what I use: Tetenal Mirasol. Does what it claims, very economical. No fungi, drying marks rare (even with our chalky Wiltshire water), minimal dust issues (given storage in good negative wallets). It's the kind of thing whose merits you recognise only with hindsight, and in that light it is immeasurably more satisfactory than the washing-up liquid I used previously.

You need a 1-ml measure. I had 1ml plastic pipettes available. Lacking an official pipette-filler, I attached mine to a 1ml syringe using a 1cm piece of surgical tubing, because you really don't want to get this stuff in your mouth (believe me, I have). You could probably use a longer piece of tubing on the syringe to make a kind of plastic anteater and thus dispense with the pipette.

Terry S 10th January 2022 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snusmumriken (Post 143127)
I don't know about Drysonal, but this is what I use: Tetenal Mirasol.

You need a 1-ml measure.

That's what I've used for many years as well, and am still using the bottle bought years ago now. I bought it after tests in an article in B/W magazine rated it highly. (I rarely buy the magazine now, as it has more digital than anything now.)

As for measuring it, I use a small 5ml syringe, which I got from my local chemist.

Terry S


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