For over 30 years now I have been developing my 8x10 and 4x5 E-6 transparencies in my 3.5 gallon stainless steel deep tank sink-line, in hangers in a stainless steel frame that I manually lower into the chemistry, and then lift by hand up and down (and sideways) to agitate..along with nitrogen burst (developers) and compressed air (bleach and fix and wash).
The process turns my fingernails brown. I used to be amused that I could tell how much work I got each month by how brown the fingernails of my right hand were. It is just a surface discoloration, as if I don't process for a while, the stain grows off, and after a while, and several nail clippings is entirely gone. Now I have always washed my hands very frequently during the process, so chemistry doesn't stay on my hands very long. The times I have tried gloves (latex) I kinda thought that they "influenced" the chemistry some...it was subtle but I got some things I didn't like. What causes this staining, is it just one chemical of the process? If so, which one? Am I going to die from my long exposure to the chems?
The process turns my fingernails brown. I used to be amused that I could tell how much work I got each month by how brown the fingernails of my right hand were. It is just a surface discoloration, as if I don't process for a while, the stain grows off, and after a while, and several nail clippings is entirely gone. Now I have always washed my hands very frequently during the process, so chemistry doesn't stay on my hands very long. The times I have tried gloves (latex) I kinda thought that they "influenced" the chemistry some...it was subtle but I got some things I didn't like. What causes this staining, is it just one chemical of the process? If so, which one? Am I going to die from my long exposure to the chems?
