bad fixing: refixing?

[daninjc]

Hi All,

More troubles with my first developing!
I have a whole bunch of triX developed last week in d76 1:1 and fixed with freestyle powder fixer, that came out quite milky and they scan badly. I can see the images quite well, but they are foggy and uniformly gray in the shadows. The spaces in the negatives between one frame and the other is not perfectly transparent as usual, but unifromly gray/milky as well.

questions:

Should I try re-fixing them? In this case what's the best way of doing that? Anyone has done it? (films are also already cut! my bad for not noticing it before cutting them)

What could cause the bad fixing (assuming that's the problem)? I fixed for 5 minutes with 5-10 agitations every minute. I diluted the fixer with filtered water not distilled - but that shouldn't be a big deal.

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[David William White]

Yes, refix and all will be well. Just in a bowl. Is there one dilution for film and another for paper, perhaps? Either way, you can find the fixing time to clear a scrap of undeveloped film (just snip off some leader), and when it seems clear to you, double the time.

 

[fschifano]

Freestyles powdered fixer is not to be diluted once you mix up the powder. Mixed as directed from the powder is the working strength solution, so if you're diluting it further it's not very strong. While it will work eventually, it will take a long time and there might not be enough thoisulfate in the diluted mixture to completely fix the film. Tap water should be just fine. Photo chemistry is formulated such that if the water is potable, you can use it for the chemistry.