[Leica] Photographers Formulary Rapid Fix

[jonathan at openhealth.org (Jonathan Borden)]

Jeffery Smith wrote:

> I made the mistake of buying and using Photographers Formulary  
> Rapid Fix. It
> comes in a quart bottle and is very turbid. I mixed it with water  
> using the
> directions on the bottle, and the resulting solution was still very  
> turbid.
> It worked fine as a fixer, but even after 30 minutes of running  
> water rinse
> in a Paterson tank, the 4 rolls of Tri-X are completely speckled with
> whatever undissolved chemical was making the fix turbid.  
> Fortunately, the
> Polaroid dust filter wipes out 90% of it, as the specks are very, very
> small.
>
> Anyone have this happen? I'm tempted to pour the rest of the bottle  
> down the
> commode.

TF-4 is great stuff, and here are a few hints on using it: http:// 
www.jackspcs.com/tf4.htm

TF-4 is supersaturated and might be a bit more fickle with water.

Myself, I've used TF-3 which is easy to make: http://www.jackspcs.com/ 
tf3.htm

The advantage of TF-4 over TF-4 is the aroma, but a little birdie  
suggested that adding a pinch of citric acid to TF-3 tames the odor.

TF-3 is easy to mix up as needed on a one-shot basis as it is mostly  
Ammonium Thiosulfate which lasts a long time in its liquid form  
(basically you add a touch of sulfite, and a touch of metaborate and  
you are ready to go.)

Jonathan