Re: Making Silver Oxide From Red Devil Lye: Argyrotype

"Of course why stop at Silver Oxide why not just start compounding my own
Silver Nitrate," or so I thought....until I read this....don't try this at
home kids... you'll almost die laughing.

http://lerch.no-ip.com/atm/DEAD.htm

R.I.P.

~m

Etienne Garbaux wrote:
> Michael wrote:
>
>> the lye I have on hand is guaranteed 98.5 per cent pure sodium
>> hydroxide, marketed as an ingredient for making soap.
>
>> I'm thinking that this must be pure
>> enough for this intended use.
>
> Of course, it all depends on what the < 1.5% impurities are and what
> process you are doing! But yes, grocery-store lye is generally
> perfectly fine for all photographic uses (as are grocery-store
> washing soda [sodium carbonate], baking soda [sodium bicarbonate],
> sour salt [citric acid], and borax).
>
> My previous message was directed specifically at Drano brand drain
> cleaner, which (in the US) is about 90% sodium hydroxide plus about
> 10% aluminum shavings plus coloring and anti-caking ingredients.
> It's primarily the aluminum that makes Drano unsuitable for
> photographic uses. When you put it in water, the NaOH reacts with
> the aluminum, giving off hydrogen gas and leaving aluminum ions in
> the solution. The aluminum ions then react with other ions in your
> coating and/or processing chemistry (particularly those containing
> other metal ions), leading to undesired results.
>
> Best regards,
>
> etienne
Received on Mon Sep 5 20:54:09 2005