Tetanal c41 stabilizer drying marks

[jbharrill1]

I’ve found quite a few threads about this issue but haven’t come up with any solid answers.

Basically the stabilizer supplied with the tetanal c41 kit is leaving some very nasty drying marks. I seem to have found a couple solutions and want to run them by you guys and see what seems to be the best option.

A) adding a bit of photoflo to the stabilizer. People seem to claim this does indeed work but it makes me wonder if it will have any negative outcome with the archival properties of the film.

B) some say the stabilizer is actually too strong and should be cut in half for use. People are claiming that the drying marks are stabilizer that has solidified of the film during drying.

C) spraying photoflo onto the film while it is hanging to dry. But again this makes me nervous that the photo flo may not allow the stabilizer to do its job.

 

[Mackinaw]

What kind of water are you using to mix the chemicals with? I use softened water when mixing my C41 chemicals and haven't noticed any drying marks on my negs.

Jim B.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Photo Flo. It is in use with BW film and here is no archival issues reported.

 

[jbharrill1]

I am using distilled water for all chemicals.

Ko.fe. Yes I use a photoflo for all my b and w film but with b and w there isn’t a stabilizer that is keeping fungus from ruining the negatives. My concern is that the photo flo will counteract with the stabilizer and make the stabilizer useless and I’ll end up with some crazy negs with fungus all over them 10 years down the road. BUT I want to say I saw you recommend photo flo in another similar thread so I’m thinking that this will be what I try next.

 

[dmr]

I'm still struggling with this (water spots on color negs) as well.

I'm next gonna try distilled H2O for at least the stabilizer. People keep telling me that plain old tap water is what's intended to mix the chemistry, but I do believe there is a lot of crud in the city water here.

I've tried shaking it off, and somebody (here?) used a salad spinner as kind of a mini centrifuge to get it off. I've considered trying something like that.

 

[ForestCap]

https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154539
#9
I use tap water all the way for everything.

 

[dmr]

Jeesh! Such contradictory information!

Use a sponge/don't touch it.
Add Photoflo to stabilizer/stabilizer is too strong, dilute it.
Use distilled water/use tap water.
{dot dot dot} ...

 

[jbharrill1]

So today I had another go at the process, this time with a little photoflo added to the stablizer. The result? Perfect, drying mark free negatives. Now I'm still not 100% sure that the stablizer will still do its job correctly but I guess we'll see in a few years. I'm not really okay with that though so I plan to continue figuring out a better solution. Using a new stablizer with a wetting agent included will probably be my next move.

 

[dmr]

this time with a little photoflo added to the stablizer.

How much is "a little" and to what quantity was this "a little" added? 🙂

Thanks. 🙂

 

[tonyc]

Jeesh! Such contradictory information!

Use a sponge/don't touch it.
Add Photoflo to stabilizer/stabilizer is too strong, dilute it.
Use distilled water/use tap water.
{dot dot dot} ...

Hi it depends on where you live, which affects the quality and hardness of your tap water.


EG in the UK the south-east has very hard water, so there will be calcium deposits left over on the dry negs.
Whereas in the south-west the water is very soft, so in theory there will be much less calcium leaving less marks on the negs.


Instead, always use RO or distilled water for final rinse and pre-rinse for your negs to avoid marks.


I use a final wash of distilled water, then a colour stabiliser made up using distilled water.


Be careful of things such as the funnel used for refilling the stabiliser, being ultra clean etc, so as not to contaminate bottle.


-TC

 

[icebear]

...Basically the stabilizer supplied with the tetanal c41 kit is leaving some very nasty drying marks. ...

What is the "stabilizer" actually?
Some anti mould/fungus agent that works over the years to keep microbes at bay, i.e. a preservative? I think it is much better to just rinse and dry your negatives and store them in archival safe sleeves in a low humidity environment.
If the storage conditions are promoting growth of mould or fungus, then you and your negatives should get out of there as quickly as possible, seriously.

 

[NY_Dan]

I read that a heated drying cabinet is needed with color film so that it fully hardens.

 

[Particular]

So today I had another go at the process, this time with a little photoflo added to the stablizer. The result? Perfect, drying mark free negatives. Now I'm still not 100% sure that the stablizer will still do its job correctly but I guess we'll see in a few years. I'm not really okay with that though so I plan to continue figuring out a better solution. Using a new stablizer with a wetting agent included will probably be my next move.

I've had the same problem in the past. I was also convinced that it was the actual stabilizer crystalizing on the film. I always used distilled water to make the bath, so the only solid that can come out is the powder that went in. My solution was to not use the powder stabilizer, but to get a $10 bottle of Kodak stabilizer from B+H, which includes a wetting agent. It has lasted me for some years, and I have a stack of the little baggies with powder left over.

If you have films that have the marks, you could rewash them and then re-stabalize, with the kodak liquid, or by adding photo-flo if that is working for you. I have also found that they are quite easy to clean off with 99% isopropyl alcohol and a pec-pad (cleaning wipe). According to Kodak 98% or higher is safe for cleaning film including color materials. They are not as dogged as regular drying marks from hard water on b+w film, they tend to wipe right off.

 

[jbharrill1]

“A little” would be 3 ml photoflo to 1 liter of stabilizer

Thanks CNNY, that is exactly what I plan on doing the next time that I purchase a new kit.

 

[dmr]

I read that a heated drying cabinet is needed with color film so that it fully hardens.

I've never heard that before, but I hang my negatives from the shower curtain rod and I can turn on the heat lamp on the ceiling and get the whole room very warm. 🙂

“A little” would be 3 ml photoflo to 1 liter of stabilizer

Thank you. 🙂

 

[nbagno]

I’ve been developing with the tetenal kit now for four or five + years and have worked through several issues including weird stains on my negatives. This is what works for me when I process and C41 either Tetenal or Rollie chemistry:

Developer
Stop bath for 1.5 minutes
Water rinse for 30 sec
Blix
Rinse
Stabilizer

I do squeegee all my negatives from 35 mm to 4x5 but make sure and rinse the squeegee before each use. I also make sure that when I put the hanging clips on that no water drips back down into the negative. The stop make sure that the dev process has completely stopped and the water rinse makes sure that the stop does not contaminate the blix.


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