Stabilizing Processed, Dried, & Cut E-6?

BAP888 · Mar 8, 2021

Hi all -

I recently developed my first few rolls of E-6 at home. I used the Arista rapid E-6 kit, because it was A) inexpensive, and B) came in the most convenient size for me (1 quart) - other brands were too big, and I didn’t want to have to subdivide my chemical concentrates into smaller portions and then re-seal to prevent oxidation.

Anyways, I noticed that the kit doesn’t have any kind of stabilizer/photo-flo step at the end, instead proceeding directly from blix to final wash. I figured the kit makers knew what they were doing, but since processing my first few rolls, I’ve done some googling, and I see that this isn’t a trivial omission. Instead, it’s a defect in the Arista kit. My slides turned out great (photos attached of some Velvia and some Provia), and I’d like to make sure they last.

I’ve read Photo Engineer’s advice about making your own stabilizer with photo-flo and formalin. My question is: can I take my already developed and dried film strips and dunk them in a stabilizing bath? Is there a technique that will minimize the chances of damage to the film?

Thanks!

Sirius Glass · Mar 8, 2021

Yes you can rinse in stabilizer bath.
Contact the seller and ask about the missing stabilizer.

cmacd123 · Mar 8, 2021

Photo Engineer actually held a patent on a way to make E6 final solutions solutions without needing formalin. your kit may well have incorporated that sort of technology.

thuggins · Mar 8, 2021

This omission from the Arista kit has been discussed here before. I would assume Arista doesn't consider the stabiliser as part of the development process. You can buy formalin on Amazon.

Next time buy the Tetenal kit. It is better all around than the Arista. And its "3 bath kit" has a fourth, stabiliser bath.

Sirius Glass · Mar 8, 2021

I have used the UniColor 1 liter kit for almost 10 years without any problems nor were chemicals missing.

BAP888 · Mar 8, 2021

All of this is well and good; if I do E-6 myself again, I’ll consider a different kit.

But what I really want to know is if I create a homemade stabilizer solution and dip my already-dried film strips into it, will it screw anything up with the film? Or will it do what I want it to do, namely, give my film the protection of a stabilizer?

MattKing · Mar 8, 2021

From Photo Engineers epic stabilizer vs. Final rinse thread:
"E6 OTOH, used the old couplers and embedded formalin in a bleach pre-bath that imbibed in a harmless version of formalin which was activated during processing."
So it is certainly possible that your film has already had its visit with formalin.
Or maybe not, it is hard to say.

koraks · Mar 9, 2021

cmacd123 said:
your kit may well have incorporated that sort of technology.

It won't. If it does, it wont be effective since it will happen before the final wash. A final rinse/conditioner/stabilizer needs to be the very last wet step in the process.

@BAP888 your slides look great, well done! You can do a stabilizer step at any opportune moment now. Just handle the film with reasonable care. I generally use a small tray for additional processing if the film is already cut. Process strips one by one to prevent scratches.

pukalo · Mar 13, 2021

It will not hurt your film. In fact, the Tetenal kit recommends doing the stabilizer rinse last, even after the film has dried from processing. You will be fine. Just order a Tetenal kit and reuse the stabilizer, I don't think it willl be an issue.

halfaman · Mar 14, 2021

Amateur 3 bath E6 kits without prebleach, like Tetenal Colortec, have formalin in the stabilizer. A quick look to msds files reveals it.

Rudeofus · Mar 14, 2021

koraks said:
It won't. If it does, it wont be effective since it will happen before the final wash. A final rinse/conditioner/stabilizer needs to be the very last wet step in the process.

If you look at professional E6 products, these all have the Formalin component in the prebleach bath. The only thing, which absolutely needs to be in the final rinse is a germicide, and this doesn't have to be Formalin.

fdonadio · Mar 14, 2021

Rudeofus said:
The only thing, which absolutely needs to be in the final rinse is a germicide, and this doesn't have to be Formalin.

IIRC, Fuji uses a thiazolinone.

Rudeofus · Mar 15, 2021

fdonadio said:
IIRC, Fuji uses a thiazolinone.

The biggest problem with these stabilizing agents is their toxicity (mostly for germs, but at some point also for humans), so most amateurs won't get them in pure form. Formalin in the final rinse appears to be the only compound, which is easily available to us - and it works.

koraks · Mar 15, 2021

Rudeofus said:
If you look at professional E6 products, these all have the Formalin component in the prebleach bath. The only thing, which absolutely needs to be in the final rinse is a germicide, and this doesn't have to be Formalin.

Ah I see, then I was wrong; I was under the impression that the formalin bath needed to be the final step to protect the dyes. I suppose it will also work if the formalin is introduced into the emulsion before the dyes are actually coupled.

Rudeofus · Mar 16, 2021

koraks said:
Ah I see, then I was wrong; I was under the impression that the formalin bath needed to be the final step to protect the dyes. I suppose it will also work if the formalin is introduced into the emulsion before the dyes are actually coupled.

Formalin has two effects:

it deactivates unreacted couplers, thereby prevents them from reacting with Oxygen
it is a powerful germicide which binds to gelatin and therefore remains active for decades (remember, Formaldehyde is a gas)

Professional 7 bath kits for E-6 moved the Formalin into the prebleach and use something else as germicide in the final rinse. Amateur 3 bath kits for E-6 left the Formalin in the final rinse and take advantage of both relevant properties.

If you wash film after final rinse, you will in both setups lose the germicide property but not the "deactivate coupler" property. In both cases reapplying the final rinse will solve the problem.

Randy Stewart · Mar 17, 2021

BAP888 said:
All of this is well and good; if I do E-6 myself again, I’ll consider a different kit.

But what I really want to know is if I create a homemade stabilizer solution and dip my already-dried film strips into it, will it screw anything up with the film? Or will it do what I want it to do, namely, give my film the protection of a stabilizer?

To reply as simply as possible,
(1) You can make a stabilizer with a liter of distilled water, 5 ml of formalin, and a few drops of Photo-Flo,
(2) You can directly soak your processed E-6 film in that solution for a couple of minutes at most.
This will give you the protection you seek.

Stabilizing Processed, Dried, & Cut E-6?

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