trouble finding wet plate chemicals in the uk .

[ronron1212]

I've recently bought 3 kodak box brownies converted them to take glass plates and intend on taking some pictures with them the only problem I have is finding most of the chemicals . I can get the silver nitrate and probably like lavender oil but most of the rest are really difficult to get hold of and I was just wondering if anyone out there knows of anywhere in the uk that i can buy these things ?
also I was told I could use methylated spirits instead of the grain alcohol and the ether but it sounds a bit odd to me .

anyway thanks for any help you guys have and sorry if this is an old question i'm fairly new to alternative photography and I just can't seem to find any answers online .

thanks again

ron

 

[smieglitz]

You should post to the wetplate forum at:

http://www.collodion.com

Several practicing wetplaters from the UK (Carl Radford, John Brewer, Sean MacKenna) post there regularly and can direct you to sources.

 

[Jarvman]

I think a chemical company called Sigma-Aldritch should stock pretty much everything you'd need. I'm looking to try wetplate soon and was going to set up a business account with them.

 

[steven_e007]

Hi,

I was able to get alcohol and ether until very recently through work for my job. It was only stopped about 12 months ago due to 'Health and Safety' - mostly fire hazard issues.

I would suspect that the suppliers can still supply - one essential is that you must be a registered business user, most chemical suppliers can not supply these chemicals to individuals.

I'll ask tomorrow at work and see if I can find out where we got the ether and ethanol from.