Controlled bleaching

[jordanstarr]

I've done very much what you're trying to do and my approach is Potassium Ferricyanide diluted to regular bleaching strength (which I just measure out by wetting a q-tip, dip it in the potassium ferricyanide and add 75ml of water. If I were you, I'd use a very thin brush, bleach the areas you want lightened up, wait 3 seconds, dip in the fixer and repeat until you're reached your desired lightness of your highlights. You can spot in the density around it to bring out the text in the sign. That's what I would personally do and it has worked well for me in the past. You need to blow the fixer off when you're bleaching as it will run and then you won't get that density back. It's a careful and tedious process, but it works like a charm when you can nail down the technique.

[Gerald C Koch]

I guess if you have a lot of time on your hands you could do the iodine trick and then add density back to the value you want. I've been experimenting lately with the removal of complete sections of a photograph with household bleach and a cotton wad, household bleach works great!

... and it also destroys the emulsion. Sodium hypochlorite (bleach) is a very powerful and non-specific oxidizing agent which also attacks organic material. Your prints may look good for a awhile but it only a matter of time before they are affected. This is why gentler oxidixers like ferricyanide are used in photography.

[Marco B]

If I were you, I'd use a very thin brush, bleach the areas you want lightened up, wait 3 seconds, dip in the fixer and repeat until you're reached your desired lightness of your highlights. You can spot in the density around it to bring out the text in the sign. That's what I would personally do and it has worked well for me in the past. You need to blow the fixer off when you're bleaching as it will run and then you won't get that density back. It's a careful and tedious process, but it works like a charm when you can nail down the technique.

What does the highlighted sentence mean? I don't understand it?? "blow off fixer?"

[jordanstarr]

...hold the area of the print you want to bleach over your arm, flat and blow the spot you want bleached. Don't just hold it up and start going 'cause the wet fixer will do two things when bleaching: 1. make the bleach run on areas you don't want it to and 2. resist/stop the bleaching process. When I do area bleaching, I sometimes leave the fixer on as the resistance of the fixer will slow down the quickness of the bleach setting in. But in this case, you're working with such a small area that the bleach in the tip of the brush will be rendered useless by the time it hits the print. Hope that helps.

[Gerald C Koch]

Years ago when people wrote with fountain pens (remember fountain pens) they sold little kits to correct what was written. There were two bottles in the kit. The first contained sodium hypochlorite to bleach the ink and the second contained dilute acetic acid to stop the bleaching action. If you didn't use the second solution the bleach chewed up the paper.

Don't use hypochlorite with a natural bristle brush as the bleach will destroy the bhush. If you read the Chlorox label it says not to use it with wool garments.

[scheimfluger_77]

There use to be a two spotpen combination that provided a bleach in one and neutralizer in the other. There is something similar at Freestyle, can't post the link. Tim Rudman also talks about local bleaching of prints in his Master Printing Course book. That discussion is not focused at spot removal, but the principles are the same. A weak solution of Pot. F. bleach in combination with a 00 or 000 brush works well. I forget what the neutralizer is but the idea is to work slowly and not bleach down all at once, just like spotting white dust spots. I tried spotting a negative once, and will never do that again.

Steve

[Mike Wilde]

I use an iodine based bleach called R14. It is an A+B. I found the formula in a 70's era Koadk book called 'Bigger and Better Enlarging" or something like that. I have two small 10mL bottles worth dedicated to this bleach, and I mixed it perhaps 3 years ago, so the formula is not at hand right now. PM me if others are interested. You look at prints while in the fixer. Dry the black spot locally (I usally use my fingers on front and back of the print first, then dab with a paper toel to gett he fixer off the surface.

My technique with this stuff is to combine two drops using an eye dropper (rinse between A and B bottles) into a small cup, swirl a bit, and then dip the skinny end of a toothpick in. Tap the toothpick to shake off excess liquid, and touch the spot. It will fade to white in under 30 seconds, usually faster. Drop the print back into thefixer for a while, and wash as normal. Once dry, retouch the white on the print to blend into the surrounding area.

Yes, pencils can correct clear spots in 4x5 negs, but it is hopeless in 35mm negs to try to hunt them down.

[Mike Wilde]

I looked the formula up, and my error, no iodine. That was for a fixer wash test.

I make it up in MUCH smaller quantities, but here is the formula per litre:

R14A water 700mL 50-60C
15g Thiorea
700g Hypo
water to 1L

R14B 700mL 50-60C
150g Potassium Ferricyanide
water to 1L
Store in brown glass ina dark place to make the B last.

Mix 2A to 1B to 2 water for speckle bleaching. More dilute for local bleaching .

Wash after use.