Sodium Sulfite Solution questions (for Polaroid 55)
 

I'd like to start playing around with Type 55 P/N film. From reading I know
the negatives should be cleared (per Polaroid) in an 18% solution of Sodium
Sulfite. What I don't know is the storage life of said solution, or how to tell
when it's dead. Or is it immortal?

Thanks all!

Steve

Sodium Sulfite Solution questions (for Polaroid 55)
 

"Stephan Goldstein" wrote in message
...
I'd like to start playing around with Type 55 P/N film.
From reading I know
the negatives should be cleared (per Polaroid) in an 18%
solution of Sodium
Sulfite. What I don't know is the storage life of said
solution, or how to tell
when it's dead. Or is it immortal?

Thanks all!

Steve

Its tough to answer this because the life of the solution
depends on the concentration of the solution and how much
air its exposed to. 18% is a fairly strong solution, about
what is found in stock Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent. Sodium
sulfite will slowly change to Sodium sulfate by absorption
of Oxygen from the air. In a closed container it will last
for a couple of months, maybe longer. In a tray for several
hours.
Sodium sulfate will do no harm but I don't know if it
functions as a clearing agent for Polaroid.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA

Sodium Sulfite Solution questions (for Polaroid 55)
 

Richard Knoppow wrote:
"Stephan Goldstein" wrote in message
...
I'd like to start playing around with Type 55 P/N film.
From reading I know
the negatives should be cleared (per Polaroid) in an 18%
solution of Sodium
Sulfite. What I don't know is the storage life of said
solution, or how to tell
when it's dead. Or is it immortal?

Thanks all!

Steve

Its tough to answer this because the life of the solution
depends on the concentration of the solution and how much
air its exposed to. 18% is a fairly strong solution, about
what is found in stock Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent. Sodium
sulfite will slowly change to Sodium sulfate by absorption
of Oxygen from the air. In a closed container it will last
for a couple of months, maybe longer. In a tray for several
hours.
Sodium sulfate will do no harm but I don't know if it
functions as a clearing agent for Polaroid.


Note that different emulsions of Polaroid call for different compositions of
that clearing bath. You might look in Ansel Adams' book, "Polaroid Land
Photography", Appendix C, for different formulae for different types.

--
.~. Jean-David Beyer Registered Linux User 85642.
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Sodium Sulfite Solution questions (for Polaroid 55)
 

Stephan Goldstein wrote:
I'd like to start playing around with Type 55 P/N film. From reading I know
the negatives should be cleared (per Polaroid) in an 18% solution of Sodium
Sulfite. What I don't know is the storage life of said solution, or how to tell
when it's dead. Or is it immortal?

Thanks all!

Steve


You may want to try plain tap water. It has worked for me just fine on
type 665 pos-neg film. Tap water here is about pH 8.5. The reason I
went with plain tap water is that I had a hard time getting 180 grams of
sodium sulfite to dissolve in a liter of water.

I put the neg in a tray and ran water over it until all the gunk
dissolved away. Then soaked the negative in regular clearing solution.
Then Photo-flo and dry.

Sodium Sulfite Solution questions (for Polaroid 55)
 

Frank Earl wrote:
Stephan Goldstein wrote:
I'd like to start playing around with Type 55 P/N film. From reading
I know
the negatives should be cleared (per Polaroid) in an 18% solution of
Sodium
Sulfite. What I don't know is the storage life of said solution, or
how to tell
when it's dead. Or is it immortal?

Thanks all!

Steve


You may want to try plain tap water. It has worked for me just fine on
type 665 pos-neg film. Tap water here is about pH 8.5. The reason I
went with plain tap water is that I had a hard time getting 180 grams of
sodium sulfite to dissolve in a liter of water.

Wow! I wonder what is in your water. Sodium Sulfite is very soluble in water
if it is not too cold. If it is at freezing point (but not frozen) you
should be able to dissolve about 125.4 grams per litre. If it is 80 C, you
should be able to dissolve 283 grams per litre.

I put the neg in a tray and ran water over it until all the gunk
dissolved away. Then soaked the negative in regular clearing solution.
Then Photo-flo and dry.


--
.~. Jean-David Beyer Registered Linux User 85642.
/V\ PGP-Key: 9A2FC99A Registered Machine 241939.
/( )\ Shrewsbury, New Jersey http://counter.li.org
^^-^^ 20:35:01 up 7 days, 21:47, 3 users, load average: 4.28, 4.28, 4.14

Sodium Sulfite Solution questions (for Polaroid 55)
 

In article NFHUf.4116$Iw2.379@fed1read05,
Frank Earl wrote:

You may want to try plain tap water. It has worked for me just fine on
type 665 pos-neg film. Tap water here is about pH 8.5. The reason I
went with plain tap water is that I had a hard time getting 180 grams of
sodium sulfite to dissolve in a liter of water.

You can just use Hypo Clearing Agent, or Perma-Wash -- they're sodium
(or ammonium) sulfite. I can't remember the dilution for clearing
Polaroid film, off the top of my head; I know I have it written down
somewhere in an old darkroom notebook, but I also know that someone
else here should be able to supply it a lot faster than I could find
the book and look it up. :-)

--
Thor Lancelot Simon

"We cannot usually in social life pursue a single value or a single moral
aim, untroubled by the need to compromise with others." - H.L.A. Hart

Sodium Sulfite Solution questions (for Polaroid 55)
 

Jean-David Beyer wrote:
Frank Earl wrote:

Stephan Goldstein wrote:

I'd like to start playing around with Type 55 P/N film. From reading
I know
the negatives should be cleared (per Polaroid) in an 18% solution of
Sodium
Sulfite. What I don't know is the storage life of said solution, or
how to tell
when it's dead. Or is it immortal?

Thanks all!

Steve


You may want to try plain tap water. It has worked for me just fine on
type 665 pos-neg film. Tap water here is about pH 8.5. The reason I
went with plain tap water is that I had a hard time getting 180 grams of
sodium sulfite to dissolve in a liter of water.


Wow! I wonder what is in your water. Sodium Sulfite is very soluble in water
if it is not too cold. If it is at freezing point (but not frozen) you
should be able to dissolve about 125.4 grams per litre. If it is 80 C, you
should be able to dissolve 283 grams per litre.

Calcium carbonate and a lot of stuff I really don't want to know about :).

I put the neg in a tray and ran water over it until all the gunk
dissolved away. Then soaked the negative in regular clearing solution.
Then Photo-flo and dry.

Sodium Sulfite Solution questions (for Polaroid 55)
 

http://www.polaroid.com/service/filmdatasheets/4_5/55fds.pdf#search='sodium%20sulfite%20clearing%20so lution%20type%2055'

--
darkroommike
"Frank Earl" wrote in message
news:S60Xf.4428$Iw2.736@fed1read05...
Jean-David Beyer wrote:
Frank Earl wrote:

Stephan Goldstein wrote:

I'd like to start playing around with Type 55 P/N film. From reading
I know
the negatives should be cleared (per Polaroid) in an 18% solution of
Sodium
Sulfite. What I don't know is the storage life of said solution, or
how to tell
when it's dead. Or is it immortal?

Thanks all!

Steve


You may want to try plain tap water. It has worked for me just fine on
type 665 pos-neg film. Tap water here is about pH 8.5. The reason I
went with plain tap water is that I had a hard time getting 180 grams of
sodium sulfite to dissolve in a liter of water.


Wow! I wonder what is in your water. Sodium Sulfite is very soluble in
water
if it is not too cold. If it is at freezing point (but not frozen) you
should be able to dissolve about 125.4 grams per litre. If it is 80 C,
you
should be able to dissolve 283 grams per litre.

Calcium carbonate and a lot of stuff I really don't want to know about
:).

I put the neg in a tray and ran water over it until all the gunk
dissolved away. Then soaked the negative in regular clearing solution.
Then Photo-flo and dry.