Re: Plating Out Toner [was RE: Old Postcard Silver Patina]

On Sat, 7 Jan 2006, Michael Koch-Schulte wrote:

> Judy,
> How do I make the "plating-out" toner that you used to achieve the silvered
> effect? Can it be used on any of the Iron processes? Or only to silver? I

I have seen some very mild "plating out" effects with VDB, but never
pursued it. Not from deliberate "toning" but from technical "faults," like
heat drying the emulsion (often mislabelled "solarization").

I gave instructions for the plating out toner, plus formulas and
commentary in Post-Factory #3, as "My Secret Formula/Their Secret
Formula", specifically the "SS Toner" (for "Specular Silver") starting
page 29.

But someone who wants to do this (I repeat myself, it's been on the list
several times, try "Halochrome" in archive) could simply buy Halochrome
which used to be about $16 for a "kit," don't know if it's still made.
This was in effect the same BLEACH AND REDEVELOP TONER -- bleach in the
bath they give you or one of several I devised, after I found the basic
chart ca 1982 in a 1947 Swedish magazine presumably invented by a
Yugoslavian chemist-photographer. Then tone in the strongly alkali toner
plus chemicals.

P-F #6 also has articles by Tony Maclean and another by myself on what
Tony calls "Colloidial Silver Toning," also "Mirror Silver Prints ." This
is a different process that gets many of the same -- but different --
effects. If I'd had Tony's info when I began (my work was based on George
Wakefield's "Manotone") I'd have gotten much further with it.... I was
pushing it to plate out, via trial & error. Tony was gearing it to
different colors, but he knew what he was doing. I didn't do it a lot
because it was so slow. Now Tony tells us just HEAT THE SOLUTION ! (As
they say in the encyclopedia: "duh!")

FWIW I mention that the "Manotone" process worked best with a ferricyanide
bleach, the "SS" process pretty much required a copper bleach (tho
different acids gave different colors). For both you need to get some
chemicals that the usual suppliers don't sell, but AFAIK they're not
verboten.

All the fiber-based gelatin silver papers I tried at that time (early
'80s) worked, tho I imagine RC paper would have worked as well. The
"plating" seems quite permanent, tho toning I did on top of the plating
with blue toner changed, usually not for the better. OTOH it would
occasionally become spectacular a couple of years later, but most faded.
The plating itself seemed quite permanent -- tho sorry, I doubt it would
work on "iron processes," or not very well, unless they were on a gelatin
base. My *guess* is that without that gelatin things soak into the paper
& they only *shine* on the surface. (Albumen may not do it at all).

PS. NOT from overused stop bath -- worked equally with young, medium or
ancient stop. (Tho overused stop followed by hebetude often will give a
silvery effect.) And since I always used 2 bath fix, with tray 2 quite
fresh, not that either. Tho, again, I don't speak for the "patina" effect
on old prints, which could be from fine-tuned hexes.

To repeat, the bleach & redevelop toners may work quite differently from
the "patina." I was intrigued by the common factor (to my eye) -- the
silvery effect.

Judy
Received on Sun Jan 8 14:16:24 2006