Re-fixing Negatives?

s162216

s162216

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Samuel
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Hi,

A week or so ago I processed a roll of TMAX 400 and when it came out it was very 'foggy' and quite purple. I searched about this and found that I had underfixed them, so I re-fixed them for 5 minutes and washed the negative strip as recommended and they now look absolutely beautiful negs (I'll post some up later).

I've now subsequently came to realise that all of the negatives that I have processed from January onward have been under-fixed (I just followed the instructions on the fixer, 1 minute for 1+4 or 2 minutes for 1+9), some more than others and these are very grey and low contrast. I have thought about re-fixing them to see if that improves them like it did with the above TMAX but am not sure if this will damage them or do anything with how long its been with some of them (most within the past 3 months). They have been kept in a cool, dark place most of the time. Has anyone else any experience with this?

Thanks,

Sam
 
1 minute seems a bit short time wise to me ,what make was it ?
anyway i havnt tried to re fix old negs ,but im sure ive got some under fixed negs somewhere ,if i can find them ( big if really tho ) i will have a go ,certainly be interesting .
 
It was Fotospeed FX20 rapid fixer, I didn't think anything of it as I just followed the instructions on it so I didn't realise that I had a problem until this roll as I assumed on the previous 2 rolls of Trix that came out like the TMAX, the fault was with my developing and the purple stain on some of the negatives I processed disappeared with time .
 
5 min is my standard fix time, and as far as im aware, pretty much universal?
I under fixed some tri x once through no other reason than running out of Fixer and using a diluted mix, re fixed just fine when i replenished my stocks.
I always clip test nowadays to check the zing of my fix, clear in 30sec and its ok. its something to do between agitations and looks cool lol
That's not to say 30sec will clear a whole roll, there's meters of film to work on not centimeters.
 
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Have to agree about 5 minutes...that's usually the minimum I fix for although I have been known to leave film standing in fixer for nearly half an hour when I've got side tracted!
Didn't appear to do it any harm!

Like Simon photo, i will often clip test before use to ensure there is still plenty of "life" left in the mix.
 
Presumably the fixing times are for a certain temperature and vary if the fix is warmer or cooler

You won't do any damage by over fixing, i always used to double the fix times to be on the safe side,
whats the rush to use a rapid fix??
is it a freshly mixed batch of fix, or pre diluted that has stood in a bottle waiting to be used?
How fresh/ long has the concentrate been open?

i did once leade a film soaking in water i think, and eventually the emulsion did fall away from the film base, can't remember how long this took though
 
I brought rapid fixer simply because that is what most fixers are these days and the price was good compared to the recommended standard Ilford Rapid Fixer (only £1 more for 1000ml compared to 500ml).

I make it up every time from the bottle of concentrate (opened in late January) and its said to have a life of one year and I squeeze the air out of the bottle after I've used it every time. I use it as recommended with it being within 5 degrees centigrade of the developer temperature. A roll of Tri-x that I processed in March had the same problem but I just put it down to me screwing up the developing somewhere, subsequent films (Fomapan 100 and 400, Agfa APX100 and Fuji Acros) didn't really show a problem as such but looking at them now and comparing them to the correctly fixed negs, they do show the same effect but not quite as extreme.
 
no obvious user errors :)

looking at the link above looks like you are not the only one
give it extended fix times, check the film before you dry it and can then always refix if still required
or try a different fixer
 
1 minute sounds far too short, even for Rapid Fixer. I use Ilford Rapid Fixer for 3-4 minutes, veering towards 5 for a t-grain film. But a clip test is a fast and easy way to judge the viability of your fix, definitely worth doing.
 
Pretty much always 5 minutes fixing for me.
 
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