Weird Spots all over my negatives

[RobinWinter]

I've been developing my own B&W film for about 6 months now and this is the first time I'm running into this issue. I used the same process as always and have had some rounded water spots to deal with occasionally but nothing like this gunk. I've re-soaked and re-washed these 3 times now and these spots wont go away. If I use a q-tip and lens cleaning fluid the marks come off. Any ideas whats causing them and how to remove them??? :bang:

 

[jim_jm]

Looks like some residue or deposit left on your film from your wash water. Even if this is the first time, it's possible something's changed in your public water supply.
Do you use a final wetting agent like Photo-flo before hanging the film to dry? Fix up a batch using distilled water and after your normal wash cycle, soak your film for about 30 sec, then hang to dry. No need to wipe the film before drying.

 

[RobinWinter]

Thanks jim_jm, I haven't used distilled water or photo-flo before but I'll give that a try.

All the water here is from a limestone aquifer and my apartment building is pretty old so my water does probably have a lot of crud in it.

I was worried it was silver particles being deposited during the fixing stage or something like that since water marks are usually rounded as far as I understand.

 

[retinax]

Could it be the tar like gunk that camera foam light seals and mirror bumpers become after decades? Was this film exposed in a different camera than what you normally use?

 

[jim_jm]

Thanks jim_jm, I haven't used distilled water or photo-flo before but I'll give that a try.

All the water here is from a limestone aquifer and my apartment building is pretty old so my water does probably have a lot of crud in it.

I was worried it was silver particles being deposited during the fixing stage or something like that since water marks are usually rounded as far as I understand.

As long as your fixer is reasonably fresh and you don't have any visible particles or sediment floating around, it's probably OK.
Residue from the wash water is one of the most common issues folks encounter, but it's easy to fix, or to rule out if it's not the problem.
Since the wetting agent is the final thing that touches your film before drying, you want it to be as pure as possible, hence using distilled water rather than tap for mixing.
Both Kodak and Ilford make wetting agents, and a bottle of concentrate lasts for years. I mix up a liter of distilled water with about 3 to 5 ml of Photo-flo, and keep reusing that as my working solution. Kodak states that the working solution life is indefinite, but I'll usually mix up a fresh batch after a month, or if I've processed a lot of film with it.

 

[RobinWinter]

Probably not gunk, I've used the camera before and its not that old (Bessa R2). I did re-use some fixer that I had attempted processing some c41 with, maybe the c41 film left some crap in the fixer?

 

[RobinWinter]

As long as your fixer is reasonably fresh and you don't have any visible particles or sediment floating around, it's probably OK.
Residue from the wash water is one of the most common issues folks encounter, but it's easy to fix, or to rule out if it's not the problem.
Since the wetting agent is the final thing that touches your film before drying, you want it to be as pure as possible, hence using distilled water rather than tap for mixing.
Both Kodak and Ilford make wetting agents, and a bottle of concentrate lasts for years. I mix up a liter of distilled water with about 3 to 5 ml of Photo-flo, and keep reusing that as my working solution. Kodak states that the working solution life is indefinite, but I'll usually mix up a fresh batch after a month, or if I've processed a lot of film with it.

Awesome, that makes sense, I'm going to track down some photo-flo and some distilled water and see if that takes care of it. I'm also going to pour my fixer into a clear container and see if it has anything floating in it.

 

[retinax]

Probably not gunk, I've used the camera before and its not that old (Bessa R2). I did re-use some fixer that I had attempted processing some c41 with, maybe the c41 film left some crap in the fixer?

Definitely C41, not cine film, right? The latter would have remjet that could cause something like that, C41 I don't think so.

 

[RobinWinter]

Definitely C41, not cine film, right? The latter would have remjet that could cause something like that, C41 I don't think so.

Yeah, some Kodak Gold 400, definitely no remjet, havent been brave enough to tackle film with remjet yet. Although I really want to try Double-X.

 

[dourbalistar]

Yeah, some Kodak Gold 400, definitely no remjet, havent been brave enough to tackle film with remjet yet. Although I really want to try Double-X.

Double-X doesn't have any remjet, so you can process it at home like you would any other B&W film.

 

[RobinWinter]

Double-X doesn't have any remjet, so you can process it at home like you would any other B&W film.

Oh damn, didnt realize! Makes me wished I'd picked one of those 300' spools up last year when the Eastman Kodak Shop educational discount still existed (or I knew how to get to the website)

 

[dourbalistar]

Oh damn, didnt realize! Makes me wished I'd picked one of those 300' spools up last year when the Eastman Kodak Shop educational discount still existed (or I knew how to get to the website)

Film Photography Project (and perhaps some other retailers) still sell it in 100-foot bulk rolls, but the price has increased significantly since I last checked. 😱 Maybe in line with the Kodak price increases that took effect earlier this year.
https://filmphotographystore.com/products/copy-of-35mm-bw-film-kodak-double-x-1-roll

 

[Freakscene]

Thanks jim_jm, I haven't used distilled water or photo-flo before but I'll give that a try.
[snip]
I was worried it was silver particles being deposited during the fixing stage or something like that since water marks are usually rounded as far as I understand.

For mixing chemistry and your final rinse get some water of known quality and filter it. That removes one potential source of your problem.

The particles that appear in fixer are amorphous sulfur, not silver. Silver will keep dissolving in fixer long after it passes the point at which you should toss it out.

Marty