Freshening up my KRST, and using it for film and prints

[2F/2F]

Hello,

I have a quart of 1:15 working solution KRST that I just dug out from the back of my chemical cabinet. It has been stored in a Kodak bottle with the ridges. A bunch of sludge has collected on the ridges and at the bottom. The sharp ammonia smell is gone, and it smells a tiny bit rotten like sulfur.

I have a few questions:

1. I like to minimize the amount of selenium toner that I have to stockpile for hazardous waste disposal. Can I simply filter out this sludge and use the remaining solution to make my next batch of print toner? If not, no big deal. I will just bottle it up as waste.

2. I have one strip of four 6x4.5 negs that I want to intensify with KRST 1:3. (I am stuck with a grade 2 paper for a lith print I am working on, and it is just the tiniest bit flat after working on it for quite some time. It is old Portriga Rapid PRW 111 11x14 paper and I only have three sheets left, so I need to get it right.) My question is, can I intensify the negs at 1:3, then further dilute the toner to make the paper toning solution, or is this like fixer, where you should not use the same chemicals for both film and paper?

3. Is there any harm in using the same bottle, with the sludge deposits caked onto the bottom and sides?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Ian Grant]

My KRST must be at least 5 years old, I just add a touch of fresh every so often. I flter it every so ofgten, Selenium toner has a habit of leaving colloidal silver on a print surface if your not careful, but this is easy to wipe off.

I'd try cleaning the bottle with a bottle brush to remove as much of the deposit as possible, and yes you can use at 1+3 then add to the main stock, as it's already used and weak don't dilute a full 1+15, I'd add it at aroun 1+6 to 1+8 then test with an old print, i keep test strips for this.

Ian

 

[Marco B]

My question is, can I intensify the negs at 1:3, then further dilute the toner to make the paper toning solution, or is this like fixer, where you should not use the same chemicals for both film and paper

I have used the same pretty dirty and sludgy selenium toner for both prints and occasionally intensifying a negative. After a good wash of the negatives, I see no harm in that at all. No dirt or anything visible. I did filter the solution once, and probably should do it again soon, but like Ian, it has been going for quite some time.

3. Is there any harm in using the same bottle, with the sludge deposits caked onto the bottom and sides?

My bottles look quite horrid, recently replaced the worst one with a "fresh" clean bottle.