B&W Polaroid Lift layer separation

[BigStinkyBean]

I'm curious about other people's experience with specifically black and white polaroid lifts.

I can't find much information on this but in Analog Things' video on polaroid lifts he removes a milky gelatin(?) layer from the emulsion before placing it on paper. Is this step actually necessary in anyone else's experience? I've had great success with color polaroid lifts but they don't have this same gelatin layer, or at least it doesn't present itself in the same way as black and white polaroids.

I tried my first black and white polaroid lift just last night and ended up ripping my image to shreds trying to remove this gelatin layer. No other videos or articles about lifts mention this step so I'm curious how necessary it really is. The most I've found regarding it is that if it's not removed the emulsion will crack while drying. In any event I plan to try doing the lift in cool/room-temp water instead of hot and see if removing this gelatin layer is easier. Beyond that I'll just see how it goes forgoing that step completely. Curious to hear how others got along with this process.

 

[BigStinkyBean]

Did another test, this time using cold tap water instead of hot. The results were much better. The milky gelatin layer separated from the emulsion in almost one whole piece. Still waiting for it to dry so yet to see how the final result will really look but this was much easier and more satisfying than my attempt with hot water.