Originally Posted by
Peter Lewin
I haven't pushed the selenium toning to the point of turning really purple or brown, only to the point where the tone starts to move towards purple, since I am toning more for permanence than major color change. Bob's testing scenario sounds excellent to get a fuller set of data points. One variable rarely mentioned is toner temperature. Higher temperature speeds up the toning process, and I typically heat my toner up to about 90F. This approach is mentioned in various articles on toning. But my overall observation is that the old MG IV FB really didn't change color at all, the new Classic does.
As to capacity, I reuse Kodak Rapid Selenium pretty much indefinitely. I filter the toner after each use, using a coffee filter and funnel to transfer it back from the tray to the storage bottle. If the toning action gets too slow, I add a little fresh KRS. This approach was suggested very long ago by Fred Picker, and described in detail on this Forum by Doremus Scudder. Using this approach, the toning tray is simply water and toner; the next tray is hypo clearing agent, and from there into the washer. You separate the toner from the hypo clear because the later reaches capacity relatively quickly, while the toner itself is very long lived.
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