----- Original Message ----- From: "SteveS" Steve asks: : Can you redevelop after the Iodine, bichromate bleach? Care to share your : formula for that? yes, both can be redevolped if overbleaching occurs with normal paper dev Iodine bleach is just iodine and potassium iodide, and bichromate is just acidified potassium bichromate, the Iodine bleach is traditionally used as you probably know for beaching back images and the bichromate for bleaching prior to toning, but I've found excessive washing is necessary with the iodine to remove the potential yellow staining.. from the scribbly notes I'm condensing: Potassium iodide 16g Iodine 4g water to make 1 litre dilute the stock solution 1:20 for use. After reduction rinse then re-fix, washing well after fixing. Some staining may occur, removable by soaking in a 5% sodiuum sulphite solution. bichromate bleach: water 500ml Potassium bichromate 5g HCl (35%) conc. 40ml water to make 1l other assorted bleaches i've used 1. Potassium Ferricyanide 50g Potassium Bromide 50g* Water to make up to 1 litre working strength 2. HCl (30% solution) 200ml CuSO4 200g water to make up to 1 litre 3. Potassium permanganate bleach Part A 5g potassium perm & water to make 1l part B HCl 80ml & water to make 1l add 1 part A & 1 part B & 6 parts water prior to use. This bleach is suitable for re-bleaching prints that have previously been sepia toned. Some staining may occur so this should be removed by soaking the prints in a 1% potassium bisulphate solution then washing. 4. Potassium Fericyanide 50g Ammonia (30%) 50 ml Water to make up to 1 litre working strength something else: CLEARING BATH for green and blue toned prints: 5g sodium tetraborate (Borax) water to make 1 litre immerse the blue or green toned print in the solution, this clears the highlights and renders the final tone more steel coloured. ..when washing any iron toned prints it is advisable to use a weak acid solution such as a 1-5% solution of sodium sulphite to prevent the mild alkalizing effect of normal tap water from neutralizing the iron toner.
