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Water streaks when rinsing film.

cerber0s

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I did a quick search, but nothing obvious popped out.

I rinse my films in tap water, and end with wetting agent before tapping the reel to shake off as much water as pissible. I still get some water streaks after drying the film though. Do you suppose I’d see a noticeable difference if I did the final rinse in distilled water with some wetting agent?
 
There's this thread - the most recent one where everyone outlines their photoflo / film drying techniques.
 
I use distilled water, mixed with 1+200 Ilfotol and 1+32 rubbing alcohol. When I hang the films, I dip my fingers into this solution, and squeegee the film between my index and middle finger (from the book of way beyond monochrome) For the time being, after 100 or so roll, no water mark and the films dry pretty quickly.
 
cerber0s said:
Do you suppose I’d see a noticeable difference if I did the final rinse in distilled water with some wetting agent?
Click to expand...

Yes.

But I'd really recommend following @Don_ih's suggestion and perusing existing threads on the topic. He gave a link to just one, but the issue has been discussed many times. You may want to search for "drying marks", "water spots" etc.
 
I wash 35mm film with three changes of distilled water per the Ilford washing method. Then I firmly hold the two ends of the film and snap it straight several times to remove most of the water. Finally I hang it in the shower stall and gently wipe down both sides of the film with a Kimwipe. No Photoflo or other rinse aids, no water spots and no scratches.

For completeness sake, I use only distilled water for processing my film. I use it to dilute the developer, as a plain water stop bath, to dilute the fixer, and to wash the film. With my 250 ml single roll Kindermann tank I use less than 1.5 liters of distilled water in total to process and wash a roll of film.
 
Last edited:
brian steinberger said:
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/drying-marks-with-ilford-120-fp4-and-hp5.67121/

Please read all the way to the end as it took me years to find what worked for me. Post #97 sums it up. I still do it this way and still get perfect negatives.
Click to expand...

koraks said:
Here's the direct link to that post: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/drying-marks-with-ilford-120-fp4-and-hp5.67121/post-2345393
Saves some scrolling & clicking around.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I’ll have a try tonight.
 
I should mention two things not totally clear in that particular post. First, after a 30 second second soak in the photo flo I do “see-saw” the film through the photo flo solution right before hanging at an angle. I also DO NOT wipe the film with anything. Just hang and leave the room.
 
A few years ago I started to be cursed with drying marks despite using a wetting agent and went through every cause and effect without success. When my bottle of Fotospeed wetting agent was finally empty I got a bottle of Ilford Ilfotol and I've never had drying marks since then. For all I know both brands could be made in the same factory to the same formula, but for some reason the Fotospeed bottle wasn't working for me, or with my tap water or with distilled water. I've now gone back to tap water with Ilfotol.
 

Not all surfactants are equal. Find the best and the best dilution for your water.
 
I have adopted the @MattKing recommended Photoflo in 70% isopropyl alcohol. I put this solution in a dropper bottle, I think this works great, allows for better dosing. Using the manufacturer's recommended dose is very important.
 
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