Chemistry in N.Z. Where to buy ?

Hi NZ B&Wers

Are any of you doing your own chemistry work,
making developers and fixers ?
If so where are you sourcing your chemicals ?

Best Regards

Rob

From all over, though in Canada, not NZ.

Developing agent:
Hydroquinone and phenidone or metol - mail order. One order can go a long way.
Ascorbic Acid - the heath food shop
Caffenol - coffee from the grocery store.

Alternatively - one bottle of Agfa rodinal or Kodak HC-110/ilfords Ilfotec HC commercial developers will when diluted as planned , go a long long way.

Preservative:
Sulfite - commercial food processor in the past - sausage maker. Now mail order.

Alkaline - Washing soda - sodium carbonate and borax- sodium borate - grocery store; Pool supply house is an option for the carbonate

Add Lye from hardware store - and with the CRC book as a reference , get to soduim metaborate (kodalk) from the borax, or buffered stop bath with soduim acetate from the vinegar

Restrainer - bromide - from mail order. Or Benzotriazole - much more concentrated - a stock solution of BZT , measured carefully can replace bromide

Stop bath - Vinegar for FB paper, or just water changed from time to time for film and RC paper.

Fixer - Hypo crystals - mail order, with a bit of sulfite and other little mial ordered bits. Or more frequently, 60% ammoinuim thiosulfate, by the gallon jug. Commercial Ilford fixer is just as good a deal, and works the same as most rapid fixers.

TF-4 from Photogrpahers formulary, or Superfix formula from APUG's Photo Engineer, will save hours of your life from otherwaise slow fixing processes.

Spend to buy a copy of Troop/Anschel 'the Darkroom Cookbook', and then build a spreadshet of the common elements that you will need.

I know Claire at JD Photochem outside of Montreal will mail ship all over the world. I get excellent service from her, as well as Mike at Artcraft, and the crew at the Formulary.

Hi Mike,

Thank you for information. I think I have just about rounded up sources for the heavy bulk stuff locally and will contact Claire to see about to expensive light weight stuff soon.

Best Regards

Rob

I make PC-TEA developer.

I bought Phenidone from Artcraft, and there were no problems with shipping. I got enough to last a long, long time!

For the TEA (triethanolamine), I sourced that locally from Merck - it was on special, but still somewhat more expensive than US list prices. I'm sure I could have got a less pure version cheaper, but this wasn't too bad. I did have to fill in some declaration as to its use, but that was just a formallity.

The Vitamin C powder came from the health food shop.

I've also got all the chemicals I need to mix home-brew Rodinal - these were easy to source.

Let us know which local suppliers you end up using.

Hi P C,

Merck humm yes I found some pyrogallol in that super lab grade which was a bit budget blowing at some $ 250 per 100 gms.

It’s sodium metaborate that I am hunting – apparently this is used in the diary industry as a carrier in one of the cleaners but the bods here at the Mount who make the cleaner won’t admit to using it “ bother “ or something ( it’s probably not suitable to use the dog advert b..... !! on an international forum )

Any way – yes I will list all the sources once I have tested them and actually bought from them which will probably post Christmas. I am hoping to get away up north where I have some shots in mind for PMK developing.

Thanks for your input.

Best Regards

Rob

they couldnt help me due to their elaborate screening process, but mabey you can make use of them

http://www.purescience.co.nz/bona.0.html
"(We do not sell directly to individuals; but we can refer individuals to a suitable retail pharmacist - who can on-sell all our products - after we have all the information requested in this message.)"

Ive given up on NZ
I can order all the chems I want from artcraft photograhic chemicals
and theyll ship them

Ill get back to you all and let you know if it all got through etc