I apologize for reviving an old thread again, but lately, I've been on a quest to achieve a specific warm tone that I've always liked. I noticed this thread has been brought back to life a few times, so I hope it's okay to add my questions here.
I recently experimented with selenium toning, trying different dilutions and times on test strips, hoping to get warmer tones on Ilford FB WT paper. However, all I’m getting are darker shadows. I have to leave the prints in the toner for a long time to achieve any color change, and it ends up turning reddish-purple, which I don’t like, and by that point, the image becomes very contrasty, which I guess I could compensate for by reducing exposure time or using a lower contrast filter, but still, it’s not the look I’m after.
I’m looking for something closer to what I believe is a gold-toned print, although I’ve never tried gold toning myself. While researching, I came across a photographer whose tones I love, and he mentioned using gold chloride ammonium cyanothionate for toning, but he didn’t specify a product. They have a very warm and somewhat subtle blue split tone. I’ve found several products available here in the EU, some of which seem to have similar characteristics, like Tetenal Gold Toner, but it doesn’t mention ammonium cyanothionate.
So, I’d appreciate it if someone could explain to a rookie like me how to get or make gold chloride ammonium cyanothionate toner. Is there a specific product for this, or does it require mixing multiple chemicals? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!