Amidol Differences

[David Hall]

Strange question.

I bought some Amidol from a local chemistry house, and it has lots of little sparklies in it. It really doesn't look much like a fine powder, it looks more like little crystals or something. I have used it, but it takes a LOT of Amidol to make up the 8g for the formula I use. So it's not dense. It seemed to work okay, but I don't really have a reference point because I am a new user.

I also just got some Amidol from Formulary and it looks quite different. It IS a powder, gray and kind of flat looking, and much denser.

Why the difference? Does it matter?

dgh

 

[Donald Miller]

I have heard of Amidol being all the way from white to black in color. My latest from Formulary is almost black. I think it ages kinda like wine...And like wine if you don't get it wet before use it works much better. Maybe that is why this stuff is so darned expensive. Realistically there are only two grades of Amidol, in my understanding, a hair grade (why it is named that I have no idea) and the photo grade. So if your hair is still relatively unaffected I would assume that you have the right stuff.

 

[brYan]

David...

Check out Michael and Paula's AZO forum. I believe there is a thread that talks about this in the chemistry section.

www.michaelandpaula.com

 

[rogein]

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (David Hall @ Feb 9 2003, 10:44 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> I have used it, but it takes a LOT of Amidol to make up the 8g for the formula I use. </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
David,

Not sure what you mean by a 'lot' but from the formulas I have written down 7g of Amidol equals about a tablespoon full. I'm sure this will vary depending on how much moisture your amidol has absorbed.

Roger...

 

[Aggie]

..

 

[David Hall]

Aggie,

That's exactly what I mean. I mean it's like a heapinig tablespoonful and the scale is barely dead on 8g. It is very airy.

dgh

 

[Donald Miller]

David,
It seems that is the way mine is. I don't worry about it. I would take that as a good sign since one of the things that I have heard is that Amidol is to be kept dry, until one is ready to use it. Density would seem to have to come from moisture. I have noticed that mine (from Formulary) takes some time to dissolve adequately in the tray (pretty granular)...again I don't worry about it...I mix it and use it. Seems to work pretty well. Good luck.

Regards,
Donald Miller

 

[edbuffaloe]

The Formulary's amidol is always dark grey, but it works just fine. I usually have a few small particles that do not dissolve, and I simply strain them out. The amidol I used to get from Bryant Labs was a white crystalline powder (well, maybe off white), and it dissolved very easily and left no residue. Amidol crystals are very light, so it seems to take a lot. My knowledge of chemistry is limited, but perhaps someone could tell us if there are aren't several ways to make amidol that result in different grades.

Someone referenced a thread on Michael Smith's site. I believe he said something like he has some very old amidol (40 or 50 years old) that is quite black but still works fine.

 

[avandesande]

There difference in the purity depends on if the Amidol is recrystallized or not. Recrystallizing removes most of the impurities.

There is a hair grade and a dye grade. Amidol has only a nitch use in photography, there is no 'photo' grade. Hair grade goes into hair coloring formulations. There are several threads discussing amidol at
http://www.michaelandpaula.com/AzoForum/default.asp

 

[David Hall]

Ed,

About straining out stray Amidol...when I saw Michael Smith mix up some Amidol at a recent workshop, there were lots of little floaties (as opposed to floaters) and said that's normal and he doesn't worry about them or strain them. And it didn't seem to matter in the print.

One thing though...when he mixed it, the solution was kind of gray colored. When I mix it, it looks more amber colored, a little like Pyro. But there does not seem to be a difference in effectiveness.

dgh

 

[c6h6o3]

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (David Hall @ Mar 5 2003, 01:57 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> About straining out stray Amidol...when I saw Michael Smith mix up some Amidol at a recent workshop, there were lots of little floaties (as opposed to floaters) and said that's normal and he doesn't worry about them or strain them </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
Michael's amidol is unique to him...it's Gennert's amidol which was bottled almost 100 years ago. It's no more available to us than is Super XX. I've never had a single flake of recently manufactured amidol not go into solution. I would imagine that our modern day stuff is far more pure than Michael's.

 

[Donald Miller]

The last amidol that I purchased from Formulary is difficult to dissolve. In fact sometimes not all of it does dissolve. It is quite dark in color and has been sealed from the time that I received it from them. Seems to work O.K. though.

 

[Donald Miller]

David,
Was the Amidol that you purchased locally any less expensive then Formulary? I believe that I paid $210.00 per lb.

 

[davidghall]

Donald,

$155 a pound is what I (would have) paid. Although I bought 100 grams.

dgh

 

[davidghall]

Donald,

About the Amidol not dissolving, I noticed that Michael Smith had that happen at his recent workshop, although the stuff worked just fine. He noted that it never really dissolves for him but it doesn't affect anything.

Mine dissolves just fine. I have no idea what the difference is, although as I mentioned at the very top of this thread my stuff has a VERY different consistency than Michael's or Formulary's. I bought some from Formulary just to see if it would be different, and it looks completely different and dissolves differently, but the prints are exactly the same.

dgh

 

[Donald Miller]

David,

That is interesting. If you would please, email me offpost the name of your supplier of the non-formulary amidol. BTW did you get my emails about the 8X20 camera?

Regards,
Donald Miller

 

[David Hall]

I will, and I did not. What were the emails about?

dgh'

 

[Donald Miller]

David,
As I recall, you had indicated an interest in the 8X20 format. There is a camera for sale and I emailed you to make you aware of it.