My stop bath is too strong?

totifoto

totifoto

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I just mixed a new stop bath before developing two films tonight. The films came out totally different then most days, flat and smudgy. I found out that I mixed my stop bath 1+9 but the bottle said 1+19 :bang::eek::rolleyes:

Does a too strong stop bath have effects on the film or did I do something else wrong?

Thanx.
 
i can't see how too strong a stop would have that effect on film. Possibly pinholes in the emulsion would form, but that doesn't sound like what you are seeing.

I think something else is at play.
 
Last edited:
IAWTC. Stop bath merely arrests the left-over developer; it doesn't actually do much of anything to the emulsion itself.
 
Too strong a stopbath (and it depends greatly on the film emulsion) will make lots of tiny clear spots (pinholes). otherwise it has no effect on the film. I speak from experience. Some films recommend plain water for a stop bath. I use 1/2 the concentration for stop bath twice as long. It stops development. Developer also contaminates the fixer. Thus the stopbath, by removing the developer, prolongs the fixer life.
 
If you use your fixer as one-shot, you don't have to worry as much about using a stop bath. Whenever I use a plain water stop bath (a requirement for Efke films), I make the fixer a little stronger than normal.
 
I've never used a stop bath for film, or paper other than plain water. My fixer lasts for ages. Its easy to test fix... When you first make the fix, put a piece of film in there and see how long it takes to clear. Test the fix every once in a while by putting a piece of film in the fix. When the clearing times doubles from the fresh fix, its time to throw it out.
 
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