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Photofinish Cleaner Discontinued? Alternatives?

Dan Rainer

Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2024
Messages
58
Location
Georgia, USA
Format
Multi Format
I bought a bottle of PhotoFinish Darkroom Cleaner a few years ago. It's been a fantastic all-purpose cleaner. Recently, I tried to pick up another bottle. Freestyle has it listed as "Currently Unavailable" and B&H has no listing. Looking up the company, Marblehead Laboratories, yields no results at all. Is this stuff discontinued? If so, does anyone have a comparable alternative?
 

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There seem to be some special cleaners for lab equipment. Nalgene L900 is one. It looks to be hideously expensive.
I can only guess the key here being a cleaner that leaves no residue to interfere with the darkroom chemistry so I'm not sure simple green would be a good choice even though it's also non-toxic and biodegradable.
 
There's a msds online, address belongs to a home in Needham MA. Looks like the proprietor is in his 80's. Probably no longer in biz. I would look for an OTC household cleaner no bleach, used to be Bon ami was recommended by Kodak, it's not around anymore.
 
Substitute elbow grease.

MSDS shows there's basically nothing of interest in there. The fact that it comes as a paste suggests it's a mild abrasive.

I don't doubt the product is effective, but this mostly shows the relatively benign nature of most darkroom grime & stains.
 
I don't know what the OP is after but, here is a link to what I use to clean the sink and all of my glass, plastic and stainless with. It is used in the dairy industry to clean the milkstone from the tanks and lines and is food safe, USF rated and doesn't leave a residue. I live in a very hard water area with very high TDS and it cleans the hard water gunk off of every thing. Spray wait and rinse. It also works on the toilet. I buy 2 bottles at a time, one for the house and one for the darkroom. I'v been using it for over 30 years and have found nothing better. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/clover-patch-milkstone-remover-1203447
 
Online search suggests that "Clover Patch milkstone remover" is phosphoric acid. Coca Cola can be substituted as this also contains phosphoric acid. Note that the milkstone remover will likely be far more aggressive than the PhotoFinish product.
 
I have used it on everything in the darkroom including my Jobo and it has worked very well. If Coke was less expensive and didn't leave a sticky residue behind I would switch to it. The previous owner of my motor home parked it where his lawn sprinklers sprayed the windshield and when I bought it it was so spotted up you could not drive it at night. This was the only thing that worked, and it didn't ruin the paint. Vinegar is great on glass most of the time, but it didn't work. According to our local environmental office it is waste water disposal safe for the water treatment plant.