Garden Centre photo supply

TERRY KING (KINGNAPOLEONPHOTO@compuserve.com)
Sun, 05 Apr 1998 19:22:24 -0400

Message text written by erobkin
>It would be a service to the list if you, and others who have worked
these things out, could supply a list of photo resources you get from
ordinary everyday
sources. For example, my local farm supply sells potassium permanganate
for
around
US$6 per pound and copper sulphate for about 3 times that. The
permanganate
has some
use in water softners and the copper is used to kill roots in outside
drains. EDTA is
also available as an iron stain remover but it is mixed with a bunch of
other stuff.

Hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid have all been on the
shelves there
at one time or another. The hydrochloric is used to remove the calcium
residue from
automated milking machines. I think they use it now because the phosphoric
was too expensive.

Anyway, you get the idea.

I'd be happy to contribute the farm supply sources to a list like that.

Now if we could only find such a source for silver nitrate.
<

Eugene

I hope that you do not mind my having copied your note to the list. We
last did this exercise about a year ago but it always worth keeping things
up to date.

Here is a start.

1.Diet Coke is a very effective developer for Pt/Pd prints and ferric
oxalate kallitypes.

2. Spirits of Salt for cleaningdrains is HCl.

3. Spirits of Wine issulphuric acid

4. Potassium citrate ( the base for cistitis cures ) is much the same as
citric acid.

5.Spirit or clear vinegar is acetic acid, about nine or ten per cent
solution.

6. Potassium metabisulphite, for clearing gum prints, is sold as a cleaner
for wine bottles.

7. Tartaric acidand citric acid should be available from the same shelf in
the home made wine kit section.

8. Cream of tartar added to salt print solutions produces a creamy coloured
print ( the teacakeotype).

9. Lith tape is great for masking off gravure positives

10 Both collodion and ether should be available from your local pharmacy.

11. Pharmacies will sell brown bottles and brown poison bottles ( ribbed so
that you can tell from touch that it contains nasties .

12. Pharmacists will often in less busy periods want to help as it makes a
nice change fom putting pills in bottles.

13. Magic tape and map pins are a cheap and effective substitute for
registration bars and punches.

14. Caustic soda, for drains,is good for photographic recipes.

15. Two sheets of quarter inch plate glass as good as any non vacuum
printing frame.

16. Martin at Silkverprint sells silver nitrate at 30p a gramme.

17. Usually sodium salts can be substituted for potassium salts but check
first.

18. Salt plus vinegar makes HCl.

Terry King

I am sure I have forgotten a lot more. I am sure Peter Marshall will be
able to add a lot more..