Bleaching a black spot in a pt/pd print?

Hi All!

I know black spots on platinum prints are typically resolved with a deft hand and a scalpel, but I thought I'd check if there's any updated methods of either bleaching or covering them over.

Thanks in advance!

-Jesse-

I don't think bleach is possible. One of the tests for identifying an old platinum print over a silver one involved attempting to bleach out a spot in the corner. Silver would bleach. Platinum would not. Platinum is very resilient to any chemical reaction you'd want to expose a print to (It's what makes them archival).

There were Kodak (and other) strips for whiting out spots (I think it worked like carbon paper). I've not tried it to know if it'd work with platinum but I'll try to dig out the retouching stuff I got in a auction bin and see if it works on a scrap platinum.

Prismacolor color pencils do not work IMHO. They are far too waxy, and shiny - they stick out like a sore thumb. In general a platinum image is such a delicate part of the paper surface that retouching is a delicate operation. I think hard pastel pencils might work but the white ones are not very opaque.

Try a weak solution o hcl followed by a weak solution of chlorox Do it very slowly and have water to rinse with. Best to test it on a throw away print. I mix different dillutions of hcl ie 1:3 hcl , 1:4 to water and separate chlorox 1:2 water. I have gotten mixed results. For me it has been tricky but has worked. Don't use your best brushes. You might also try covering over or spotting with acrylic artist's paints or spotting white spots with pencils. I have a variety of hues from Prismacolor. Again, a light touch. I have never used a scalpel for that. You could try emery sandpaper but I haven't used that. Actually I haven't gotten black spots on prints but have bleached as described. Most of the time if I find something requiring change, I will make a new negative in Pictorico Ultra Premium OHP Transparency Film.
Hope this helps.

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jeffreyg said:

Try a weak solution o hcl followed by a weak solution of chlorox ...

Click to expand...

I stand corrected. Thanks for that. I didn't think this was possible without ruining the paper as well.

Thanks for your input, folks! I'll give that a try