Flexicolor Stabilizer III & Replenisher - Where is it?!

[EASmithV]

I usually get it from one source on eBay, but that seller is on vacation and it won't let me order some...

I find it hard to believe that it's the only place to get the stuff...

I usually dilute it 67mL per 1000mL and use it for my C41 and E6 stabilizing...

Options? I'm not looking to go buy a half gallon of Formalin, but if that's the best way to go...

I would prefer to get more Flex Stab.

Thanks

 

[EdSawyer]

Adorama and bhphoto usually carry it. I think the dilution is 45ml to 5L, though.

 

[EASmithV]

Can someone please verify the 1L dilution?

 

[EdSawyer]

I just bought a case of this from Unique Photo. They had a great price, easy shipping (no hazmat) and were great to work with. They are my new go-to place for C41, I think.

 

[Tom Taylor]

The Kodak Flexicolor C-41 stabilizer I use comes in 45mL bottles ($5) and calls for 9mL dilution per liter.

Thomas

 

[EdSawyer]

thanks, Tom. That confirms my 45ml / 5L ratio. This is for the normal C41 flexicolor stabilizer III. There are -RA and probably -LORR versions as well, I'd guess. They may have different dilutions.

 

[EASmithV]

I just bought a case of this from Unique Photo. They had a great price, easy shipping (no hazmat) and were great to work with. They are my new go-to place for C41, I think.

the unique photo website only shows RA4 stabilizer. Which one did you get?

 

[EASmithV]

Would over-concentrated stabilizer have any adverse effects?

 

[EdSawyer]

Sorry, I got it at PDI Supply, who were also great to work with, I dealt with Art Yockel thesales manager. This is the item

http://www.pdisupply.com/ProductDet...&CategoryID=34&subCategoryID=146#.Ul9PPjW9KSM

I think it was about $50 for the case, but everything on their site is now call for pricing. It was a great price in any case, and they were excellent to work with (PDI).

Ed

 

[sleepyjack]

So I've made the jump to Flexicolor, but I'm developing a lot of old film stock. Does anyone know where to get this stuff in 2020? Does it even exist now? I thought I'd found it here but the salesperson told me that the listing was actually outdated.

http://www.omegabrandess.com/products/FLEXICOLOR-KODAK/1965482

 

[foc]

When you say old film, how old is it?
Modern film does not NEED stabilizer, you just use a final rinse in C41.
I have processed film from the 1970s & 1980s in the standard C41 with final rinse (no stabilizer) and had no problem.
Maybe you could try this.

 

[sleepyjack]

I’m developong mostly Vericolor from the 80s and 90s but also some Fuji NPS and NPC from the 90s and early 2000s. My understanding is that the new final rinse became available in 2000 and replaced the Stabilizer III, which was necessary for Vericolor films and older (I don’t know about Fuji films though). From my reading, the issue is not so much the present - my negatives are coming out fine with the new final rinse - it’s the longevity of the dyes that degrade more rapidly without stabilization from the formalin that is only present in the Stabilizer III.

This thread has some good info:
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/c-41-stabilizer-usage.44489/

Those pills look interesting, though I don’t see that they contain formalin. Would they accomplish the same purpose more safely?

Obviously it would be nice not having to deal with formalin at all, but I’d like to know that my negatives are going to stick around for a while without going bad. Or maybe a raw file from a scanner is the really the only way to preserve these older films