Product for Removing Black Spots from White Areas

[ckpj99]

Hey guys!

I've heard of spot tone, which I used in college, for removing white spots from black areas. I was also incredibly bad at it.

However, is there a product to remove black spots from white images. I'm shooting a few Avedon-ish type portraits, and despite my best efforts, I have flaws in the emulsion where the dark background should be. I tried identifying them and simply placing small things over where I thought they would appear during the printing process, but that's super tedious and it's next to impossible to find them all.

Is there a product like spot tone to fix black spots on white areas of the image?

[Otto Seaman]

Yeah it's called an X-Acto knife and a burnisher.

[aporodagon]

I used to remove black spots from my prints (silver gelatine) by making a mixture of potassium permanganate (purple crystals) with vinegar. The exact concentration doesn't seem to matter). This is applied with a toothpick on the black spot. The resulting permanganate stain is then removed with a solution of sodium bisulphate and the black spot is gone. I think I found this method in Steve Anchell's Darkroom Cookbook.

[Merg Ross]

Spotone also made Spot Off for the very problem you outline. It was two solutions, "A" (accelerator) and "B" (bleach). Different dilutions control amount of silver removal. Probably a solution of Pot. Ferricyanide and Sodium Thiosulfate would work. The above procedure sounds interesting also. With a little search you should find a remedy for this "old school" problem!

[Bill Burk]

The real solution of course, is to spot the negative. Print. Then use Spotone to blend the bad spot job.

[Merg Ross]

The real solution of course, is to spot the negative. Print. Then use Spotone to blend the bad spot job.

Yes, that is the ideal solution. I could do it with 8x10 negatives and contact prints, but never mastered the technique with 4x5 negatives when enlarging. However, with skilled hands and eyes it can be done!

[ckpj99]

So are you saying to use actual Spottone on the negative itself, or is there some other product you apply to the negative?

[Bill Burk]

I do one of two things, one is with a pen shaped holder with a needle point, I scratch surface of the back of the negative which disturbs the clear base and holds back light. The other thing is with opaque on a very fine brush. It is ugly - but leaves a sharp white spot on the print. I have found with my limited experience that an opaque blob is the more reliable method. It can be wiped off if I mess up. The scratches are one-time deal and they don't always do the trick.

I have tried using "New Coccine" with limited success. In general, if you try to blend the white spot on the negative, you end up with a halo. But if you opaque it out, you end up with a pure white spot.

The print on the drying screen is horribly ugly. Hopefully you only have one or two spots that need the treatment. I have done up to a dozen and thought I was insane.

Then the white spot on the print is relatively easy to spot back to blend into the background or subject.

[Kirk Gittings]

Yeah it's called an X-Acto knife and a burnisher.

I have done this for decades. EXCEPT I do it on wet prints. When dry the gelatin shrinks down and there is no need for a burnisher.

[ckpj99]

Bill Burk - what is "opaque"? I just know that word as an adjective.

Kirk Gittings - What type of burnisher are you referring too? Can you direct me to a YouTube video or at least a product listing on B&H or a craft store?

Thanks!