Is there a Squeegee that works??

[Pirate]

I've tried two different Squeegees and even a couple sponge pads, and nothing works. Still see little drops of water on the film, or with the rubber Squeegee, I've gotten scratches down two rolls of film now.

What do you guys use????

 

[Pablito]

NO Squeegee. Never, never, never. Use a wetting agent like FotoFlo and let the film dry by itself, don't touch it.

 

[dof]

I always use a wash aid (Kodak's PhotoFlo) and squeegee my film off by pulling it gently between my fingers before hanging it up to dry. The method has worked well for me.

 

[coelacanth]

I haven't found a perfect one yet. I use one of those rubber "hair iron" style one with Photo-flo. I store the rubber squeegee in no-dust area and make sure the tips are clean everytime, and I'm using it only to remove major water drops (thus no strong squeezing) and let the air flow and photo-flo do the rest of work.

 

[jljohn]

I agree--no squeegee. Just use photoflo and let it dry. If you must, however, you can use the first and middle finger of a WET hand pinched together as a squeegee to push the water down the negative strip.

Jeremy

 

[Keith]

I use a Jobo and it doesn't appear to cause any problems with scratching ... I do give the blades a clean every time I use it though and I generally run it the length of the film two to three times.

I don't use it on older style emulsions or 120 film though!

 

[Finder]

All squeegees work. I have yet to find one that will not scratch film, exactly what they were designed for.

Photo Flo works much better.

 

[FrankS]

Wetting agent in de-mineralized water as the final minute wash bath, then a trip between my index and midde finger and hang dry. I suffered for years with water spots. These are mineral deposits. Use de-mineralized water, and no more mineral deposits/water spots. I can kick myself for waiting so long to try this.

 

[nikon_sam]

NO Squeegee. Never, never, never. Use a wetting agent like FotoFlo and let the film dry by itself, don't touch it.

These would have been my words but Pablito got them out before me...
I have a hardly used Paterson squeegie in the photo closet that will stay in there and I've quit using my fingers too...now I just pull them from the photo-flo and hang them...I don't even breathe on them...😀:bang:

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Pablito is right, never, ever touch the film's surface with ANYTHING when it is wet. EVER. Just let it dry naturally.

 

[SteveM_NJ]

no squeegee-
Have always used Kodak Photo-Flow as final rinse and hang on a slight diagonal. with good results for letting it dry with no water drops ( bad images, that's my fault, but no droplets).

 

[FrankS]

Some emulsions are more delicate than others. Kodak high speed infra-red was too delicate to touch. Ilford FP4 and HP5, and Kodak TMY, have no problem with fingers.

 

[nikon_sam]

The biggest variable here is the water you're using...using a bottled water will make a huge difference...I use tap water and have no water spots at all but that's just me and where I happen to live...I could use all my chemicals with your water and get spots...
Like they say..."It's the water..."

 

[coelacanth]

The biggest variable here is the water you're using...using a bottled water will make a huge difference...I use tap water and have no water spots at all but that's just me and where I happen to live...I could use all my chemicals with your water and get spots...
Like they say..."It's the water..."

That's true. I have no problem with tapwater in San Francisco, but I remember I saw HUGE amount of calcium buildup on the drinking fountain at Apple Campus in Cupertino. 😱 I'll probably have to be a lot more careful if I lived there.

 

[seifadiaz]

I use a Patterson squeegee dipped in diluted Photoflo. It works for me.

Have tried using my fingers, but I got drying marks even when using filtered water and Photoflo.

 

[SteveM_NJ]

regarding the water - I'm thinking of using the collected water from a de-humidifier (filtered through new coffee filters) as the base water for all my chemicals, and phot-flow.
sorry - not meaning to hijack.
but still - no squeegee.

 

[Pirate]

I'm using tap water right now. I'll see about getting a water filter and using better water with no squeegee. I'm just worried about water deposits if I don't squeegee it off.

 

[Chris101]

Four out of 5 times I would get no scratches by squeeging with my fingers wetted with distilled water/photoflo. But that fifth roll always had the picture I really wanted. Now I shake the reel vigorously in the air to remove excess dw/pf and then unroll the film on the hanger and let it dry. No more fifth roll scratches!

 

[thomasw_]

...... I shake the reel vigorously in the air to remove excess dw/pf and then unroll the film on the hanger and let it dry.....

"Exactimundo!" -- The Fonz

 

[Bob Michaels]

What do you guys use????

I use distilled or filtered water, a little bit of PhotoFlo and the same squeegee I have used for ten years.

I do not have water spots or scratched film. And, I have very little dust spots which is good since our house is open about six months a year. I did have a scratch on one roll of film about four years ago but it was fixable.

My squeegee is a "Kaiser" brand made in Germany but it was cheap. If I ever see another one just like it, I will buy a spare.

Now I am not a missionary out to convert the world to using a squeegee. I care less if you use one or not. I use one because it works for me.