RE-re-washing negs

-Josh-

-Josh-

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As always, asking google has given me a lot of conflicting answers, so looking for some first hand advice.. Washed my negs as I usually do, tap water with a little photo-flo and was left with streaks running the length. I thought it might be something to do with them drying too quickly or in too warm a space, so decided to give them another wash at home and I've got the same problem.
So first question: am I going to do harm to the negatives by repeatedly washing, allowing to dry and then rewashing? And then, whats the best way to clear the streaks? I'm unsure as to whether the streaks are the same ones that haven't washed away in the second wash, or if they were cleared in the washing and then new ones have formed during drying. Is it enough to rinse the negs with some agitation to clean them?
I'm going to get some filtered water for this next wash, but wanted to make sure that theres not something else I'm overlooking.

Thanks!!
 
The last time I looked (and bought) you could get 5L of distilled water with free del for about £2.30. If you live in a hard water area you could get streaks (lime?) so distilled water might help...and AFAIK continual washing doesn't affect the negs once fixed, I had to wash my 50 years old negs with no problem.
 
excalibur2 said:
The last time I looked (and bought) you could get 5L of distilled water with free del for about £2.30.
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May I ask where can you get distilled water for such a price? I only found deionised and have to get 25l to get near that number.
 
An extra wash shouldn't do any harm. A bit of agitation and a gentle rub with your fingers should remove the water marks.

What I do is use filtered water from a Brita jug for the final rinse. After hanging the negs I wet my fingers in the water+rinse aid, so they're slightly damp, and run the insides of my fingers (the smoothest skin) down the length of the strip a couple of times. This removes enough of the excess water that I don't have water marks. If you still have problems, try hanging the negs diagonally so the water only has to flow a short distance to the edge. That should help prevent water mark droplets forming.

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-Josh- said:
As always, asking google has given me a lot of conflicting answers, so looking for some first hand advice.. Washed my negs as I usually do, tap water with a little photo-flo and was left with streaks running the length. I thought it might be something to do with them drying too quickly or in too warm a space, so decided to give them another wash at home and I've got the same problem.
So first question: am I going to do harm to the negatives by repeatedly washing, allowing to dry and then rewashing? And then, whats the best way to clear the streaks? I'm unsure as to whether the streaks are the same ones that haven't washed away in the second wash, or if they were cleared in the washing and then new ones have formed during drying. Is it enough to rinse the negs with some agitation to clean them?
I'm going to get some filtered water for this next wash, but wanted to make sure that theres not something else I'm overlooking.

Thanks!!
Click to expand...

Streaks occurring on the Base side (non-shiny) can be cleaned off once dry with pure ethyl alcohol. Get some on a lint free micro fibre cloth and wipe off the streaks. It's more effective if you do it after the film has just dried. Iso propyl alcohol (pure) works too but much less effective.

Use distilled or deionised water plus photoflo in your final rinse and dry slowly in a damp environment. Repeatedly rewetting the neg and drying it may cause cracking of the base, among other problems. Also the streaks may not really affect your scans/enlargements as much as you think.
 
I can get distilled water in 5l size by ordering from my local chemist - but it does indeed cost an arm and a leg. These days, I use the far cheaper deionised water, which can be bought in 5l sizes at many hardware shops and car spares places. I just looked, and Halford's price is currently £3.50, although compared to Brian's price that's way, way far too expensive...
 
I always used tap water for many many years with no problems, even used fairly liquid (which is supposed to be bad for them) still no problem. My negs all look good today 30 - 40 years later.
I used to "squeegy" them with my fingers and hang up either in the darkroom or a drying cabinet.
Washing them a few times shouldn't hurt them, I gather it's keeping them wet for too long is the problem, so as long as they are not soaked for ages they should be ok.
 
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Purified water is the more generic term for water that has been, well, purified. In simple terms, deionised water will have had the inorganic bits taken out - the lime scale, if you like; water for injections will have been distilled and had the organic stuff removed as well. Photographically, all we're really bothered about is the inorganic matter. I admit that most developing agents are organic in nature (normally with a benzene ring or two thrown in somewhere) but so far as I know no-one has yet successfully developed a film in tap water...

Last point really as water is usually added to developer somewhere along the line before it goes into the tank.
 
Now that I live back in a soft water area, I have no problem with streaks. When I lived in London, I found that Sainsbury's 'Basics' still water washed negatives without streaks. I can't remember the exact cost but it was extremely cheap. It might be worth trying that before splashing out a small fortune on distilled water.
 
NickT said:
I found that Sainsbury's 'Basics' still water washed negatives without streaks. I can't remember the exact cost but it was extremely cheap. It might be worth trying that before splashing out a small fortune on distilled water.
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Thanks for the tip, I shall try that out.
 
If the streaks really are limescale deposits from hard water, will they wash off just with water without some sort of physical cleaning (whatever the film equivalent of a dishmop is!)?
 
Well I used to clean streaks on the shiny neg side by "huffing" and polishing with a clean hanky..mind you have to be more careful if you just had a Vindaloo curry o_O
 
NickT said:
Sainsbury's 'Basics' still water washed negatives without streaks. I can't remember the exact cost but it was extremely cheap.
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IIRC it's about 25p for a 2 litre bottle.
 
Thanks for all the tips! I gave them another wash (I was too impatient to find some distilled water), and used the photo-flow / finger squeegee-ing method. The base side is free from any marks, which is good, but the other side is still quite streaky. So, if I'm going with the huff-and-polish to get rid of anything that shows up in the scans, is there a recommended fabric that'll be less likely to cause scratches?
 
-Josh- said:
Thanks for all the tips! I gave them another wash (I was too impatient to find some distilled water), and used the photo-flow / finger squeegee-ing method. The base side is free from any marks, which is good, but the other side is still quite streaky. So, if I'm going with the huff-and-polish to get rid of anything that shows up in the scans, is there a recommended fabric that'll be less likely to cause scratches?
Click to expand...

A new microfibre cloth should do the trick. I use them to clean remjet off movie stock, and I haven’t had any stractches.
 
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