gainer said:
It migh even keep the raccoons out of your corn patch. They'll go mad trying to wash their hands.
Those little fellows are going to be very surprised when the -TEA solution solidifies on their paws!!
But, more to the point. Today, using the Rollo-TEA formula that I introduced on another thread, I set out to see, 1) if I could make a solution that was very dark and smelly, and 2) if the dark color and smell made any difference in results.
For the first condition I used fairly old pyrogallol and phenidone solutions, and mixed everything at or around 250ºF. Sure enough, the final solution was quite dark, rather like light coffee, and very odiferous. In fact, the "One who must be Obeyed" pronounced in no uncertain terms that the kitchen microwave would not be used in the future for such work.
Then, after escaping from "The One" I ran a test with the colored and smelly solution, which involved exposing and developing an FP4+ negative, using procedures identical to those used with the original Rollo-TEA solution (which was very clear and had no smell).
Finally, I measured the densities of the negatives and plotted their curves. Result. The dark and smelly solution gave virtually the same results as the clear solution with no smell.
You draw your own conclusions. What I figure is that, 1) pyrogallol and phenidone in powder form last a very long time, and 2) too much heat causes a lot of smell and color with this formula, but does not affect the final results.
That should not be construed to mean that excessive heat would not affect the results with other formulas!!!
Sandy