Quote Originally Posted by paulbarden View Post
You are really hitting your stride these days, Nick. Nice work!

It is my experience that if you store your Collodion properly (cool and dark) then it last far longer than much of the literature suggests. John Coffer states in his manual - specifically about the #7 for Negatives - that it is useful for maybe 2 months at most, and my experience clearly defies that statement. And yes - I did varnish the plates I made that day using year-old #7, and the varnish did NOT dissolve the collodion. It is also my impression that older collodion has much better contrast as it ages, which can be a plus.
Thanks, Paul! The weather has been key to my success I think. I feel like we haven't had a day over 75F in about a month! I also think after 10 months at this I'm starting to 'get' it now.

I cannot believe that collodion didn't disappear when you varnished it. You need to start your own Mythbusters!
Have you used the amino silane that Bostick carries as a collodion additive? 1mL per 100mL of collodion and it'll stick to glass like no other. Usually it's added when you make fresh iodized collodion but a friend of mine added it to 12 month old red stuff. Well, turns out it reverses aging just like acetone. It went from deep red to lemonade yellow overnight with a huge speed boost. Hopefully it keeps its glass-sticking properties. Could be a replacement for acetone in that regard, with the added benefit that it doesn't make fragile collodion even more fragile.