5 Year Old Agfa CN Chemistry?

AlbertZeroK · May 23, 2011

I got home today with a van full of dark room stuff, from of all places, a pawn shop. $100 for the entire load. I'm half way through the dark room equipment and I'm VERY happy with my find. I also brought home a bunch of CN Film (C41 right?) and RA4 paper developing supplies. Including developer, bleach, fixer and stablizer for CN FILM and RA4 developer and blix. I also got some rolls of RA4 color paper.

Everything was stored in a garage for an undetermined amount of time. I found an invoice on one of the boxes dated 2006, so it's likely the stuff expired 2007 or 2008. Now I know most of it is unusable, but I'm not stupid, someone tells you to take everything, you take it all and throw out what you don't want later.

Here is my questions. I'm thinking the paper is shot, would it be usable for learning to process RA4?

The Fixer I can test, it looks nice a clear, so I think their is a chance it's good??

The CN Film Bleach Replenisher, that's C41 bleach right? That should be good as long as their is not parcipitate particals at the bottom Right?

Is the RA4 Blix worth using?

The truth is C41 developer and stabalizer is pretty cheap and I have a cube of C41 fixer already (it's the Trebla stuff you can use for E6 and C41.)

Any thought on what you'd keep or what you would throw?

EdSawyer · May 24, 2011

Keep it all. Paper from 2006-2008 should still be fine. I use Kodak Endura that is that old, with good results. Try it all - no reason not to.

Bob-D659 · May 24, 2011

If the RA4 dev is three parts and the blix is two part, they just might be ok. The one part blix's seem to be the problem. What brands are the chems?

AlbertZeroK · May 24, 2011

The Film Developer is in 3 parts, the paper developer in three parts as well I think. The blix is seperate, clear and dark liquid.

The developer is all Agfa, the RA4 blix is two part both agfa and fuji.

I will definately try the film developer, the paper developer, I don't really want to do RA4 processing although, it would be nice to be able to do contact prints of 120/220 film instead of scanning it all.

kevs · May 24, 2011

Hi Albert, if the dev is unmixed and sealed it should be good. I have some unmixed Agfa AP-70 developer that i bought about 1998 and stored in an unplugged refrigerator in my larder. I recently mixed some and tried it, it is absolutely fine. Blix will certainly be fine although you might get some sulphur crystals in the fixer part, you can just filter these out. I have some even older Blix from a RA-4 kit and it's good too. You might try it out, have fun.

Agfa CN film = C-41, yes.

Cheers,
kevs.

jm94 · May 26, 2011

if the bottles were sealed, there should be no problems using them! monoconcerntrates (one solution for each part) tend to be a problem but from what you have said they are not mono concerntrates. best way is to try the chemicals and see if they work, given the cost of some of them! if you do not want to do colour printing the fixer would be of use to you as would part A? of the developer (i think its part b thats the colour developer part, C being the acelerator? please correct me if i am wrong

AlbertZeroK · May 26, 2011

Thanks everyone, I'm gunna shoot some cheap C-41 and try it this weekend. Thoughts on the Stabalizer?

Dang, I'm gunna have to find shelf space in the basement too... Not that that's a bad thing!

Rick A · May 26, 2011

Send all of it to me, I'll let you know how it worked. I dont charge much for the service.

kevs · Mar 13, 2020

kevs said:
Hi Albert, if the dev is unmixed and sealed it should be good. I have some unmixed Agfa AP-70 developer that i bought about 1998 and stored in an unplugged refrigerator in my larder. I recently mixed some and tried it, it is absolutely fine. Blix will certainly be fine although you might get some sulphur crystals in the fixer part, you can just filter these out. I have some even older Blix from a RA-4 kit and it's good too. You might try it out, have fun.

Agfa CN film = C-41, yes.

Cheers,
kevs.

Yikes, how odd to come across my own post when I was searching for info about the same chemicals! I still have this same colour developer (a five-litre kit), though I've lost the instructions and chucked away the box because it was knackered. I'd forgotten all about this stuff until a few days ago... I guess that shows how much confidence I have in doing my own colour processing!

The AP-70 chemical concentrates still look to be in good condition; parts 1 and 2 are clear and part 3 has a light straw colour. Someone gave me some long-outdated 35mm C-41 films so I'll use them this summer and process them using this stuff and we'll see if 15-year-old film processed in 22-year-old chemicals still hits the spot!

kevs · Apr 8, 2020

I took the plunge and developed a roll in my 20+year-old Agfa AP-70 developer. Aside from a few tiny crystals floating in the Part B stock, nothing seems to have deteriorated. The solutions mixed well. I developed a recently-exposed roll of Fuji Reala 120 that expired in 2009; the negs are a little darker than I'd expected, probably because I mis-timed the development, but I'm happy to report that if stored unmixed and sealed in favourable conditions*, Agfa AP-70 colour developer will keep well over two decades. Hoorah!

I also used that really old RA-4 bleach (actually one part of bleach-fix) followed by a bog-standard film/paper fixer, which worked well.

*I keep my colour chems in a long-dead refrigerator in a walk-in larder (pantry); luckily I've never mistaken it for beer!

mohmad khatab · Apr 8, 2020

kevs said:
Hi Albert, if the dev is unmixed and sealed it should be good. I have some unmixed Agfa AP-70 developer that i bought about 1998 and stored in an unplugged refrigerator in my larder. I recently mixed some and tried it, it is absolutely fine. Blix will certainly be fine although you might get some sulphur crystals in the fixer part, you can just filter these out. I have some even older Blix from a RA-4 kit and it's good too. You might try it out, have fun.

Agfa CN film = C-41, yes.

Cheers,
kevs.

(CN ) & (C41)
But the chemistry of CN does not match (C41) 100%.
(C41) = (AP70) not (CN).
But this does not mean that (CN) and (C41) are opposites. Rather, they have a large joint link, but they are not identical.
(CN) is somewhat closer to (C22), I think. Of course, in all cases we can say that (CN) is very close to (C41)

kevs · Apr 9, 2020

mohmad khatab said:
(CN ) & (C41)
But the chemistry of CN does not match (C41) 100%.
(C41) = (AP70) not (CN).
But this does not mean that (CN) and (C41) are opposites. Rather, they have a large joint link, but they are not identical.
(CN) is somewhat closer to (C22), I think. Of course, in all cases we can say that (CN) is very close to (C41)

Hi Mohmad, I think you're correct actually; but you're replying to my post from 2011, when I wasn't as knowledgeable about old filmstocks and processes. But it would most likely perform the same function as C-41 bleach anyway (rehalogenise image silver so it can be fixed out).

I'm pleased my Agfa chems worked so well after that long in storage. I have a bunch of C-41 film to use up and it'll save me a few quid on processing. That's if I get to leave the house this summer!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_discontinued_photographic_films#Colour_negative_films

mohmad khatab · Apr 9, 2020

kevs said:
Hi Mohmad, I think you're correct actually; but you're replying to my post from 2011, when I wasn't as knowledgeable about old filmstocks and processes. But it would most likely perform the same function as C-41 bleach anyway (rehalogenise image silver so it can be fixed out).

I'm pleased my Agfa chems worked so well after that long in storage. I have a bunch of C-41 film to use up and it'll save me a few quid on processing. That's if I get to leave the house this summer!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_discontinued_photographic_films#Colour_negative_films

I was wandering between oldies ,, and I am very fond of all his money related to the company, Agfa.
I am not aware of the date of the publication.
Has that chemistry inevitably ended since then?
You've been developing films for free for nine years, you are a lucky man, and in return you paid a small amount.
I envy you.

Lachlan Young · Apr 9, 2020

mohmad khatab said:
(CN ) & (C41)
But the chemistry of CN does not match (C41) 100%.
(C41) = (AP70) not (CN).
But this does not mean that (CN) and (C41) are opposites. Rather, they have a large joint link, but they are not identical.
(CN) is somewhat closer to (C22), I think. Of course, in all cases we can say that (CN) is very close to (C41)

C-41, AP-70, CN-16, CNK-4 are functionally as close to identical as possible. Within the limits of process controls they should deliver very near identical results. You need to tell us why you think the Agfa process is so drastically different that you need that formula.

kevs · Apr 9, 2020

mohmad khatab said:
I was wandering between oldies ,, and I am very fond of all his money related to the company, Agfa.
I am not aware of the date of the publication.
Has that chemistry inevitably ended since then?
You've been developing films for free for nine years, you are a lucky man, and in return you paid a small amount.
I envy you.

You misunderstand; 2011 is the last time I used the Agfa colour developer; i hadn't tried it since then. I bought a 5 litre kit in the late 1990s. I have about 2 litres' worth left so it won't last me forever!

mohmad khatab · Apr 9, 2020

kevs said:
You misunderstand; 2011 is the last time I used the Agfa colour developer; i hadn't tried it since then. I bought a 5 litre kit in the late 1990s. I have about 2 litres' worth left so it won't last me forever!

Okay ,,
I now understand ...
But you still have 2 liters ,, that's good ,, why not excited to use them?
This is the great agfa developer ,,, it is really very cool and it has its own different flavor.
I wish you luck, and I will not envy you again ..
God bless you

5 Year Old Agfa CN Chemistry?

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