Collodion and Chemical Suppliers

[Ari]

I ordered the B&S kit, but once I'm done with the chemicals in that kit, I'd like to get my chems in bulk, or at least larger quantities.

I know of Artcraft Chemicals (owned by Q. Jacobson's brother) and have bought silver nitrate from them before. eBay might be a source for some items, too.
Getting collodion and ethyl ether is trickier - at least right now.

I wanted to know where you more experienced guys get your collodion and chemicals?
I'd love to compile a good list of suppliers.

[Two23]

The ones I've dealt with are: Bostick & Sullivan, UV Photographics, Lund, Art Craft. I would think there would be raw chemicals available in Canada somewhere too.


Kent in SD

[Ari]

Of course there are chemical suppliers here, too. They're much more expensive and harder to find.
Most times, it's much less expensive to have something shipped to a US border town, drive down, pick it up and pay the taxes coming back in to Canada.

I've used all the suppliers on your list except UV photographic, they don't ship outside of the US.

[paulbarden]

I’ve bought chemistry from B&S, Artcraft and UV Photographics.
I prefer UV Photographics because prices are better than B&S, and Brian offers a wider variety of pre-mixed chemistry, and most of the raw chemicals you’ll need for wet plate work.
I’ve bought hardware from Lund, but not chemistry.

These are the four suppliers I’m aware of. I’d recommend UV Photographics of the four, but if they don’t ship to Canada....

FWIW, I have bought half pound containers of AgNO3 from Artcraft’s fleabay presence (Artcraftinny) for the lowest price I’ve ever paid, since you can “make an offer”, hint, hint.

[Ari]

UV has a good selection and better variety of sizes.
A quick look online shows their prices are almost the same as Lund's (for the same sizes), but again, UV is US-only.
Too bad, but I understand. Some of these items are hazardous, and ground shipping across the border can be expensive and complicated.

Thanks for the eBay information, Paul. Practical question:
Do you buy all your chemicals at once and have a good amount in stock for 2-4 months, or do you buy smaller quantities as needed?
I guess I'm wondering if it's feasible buying larger quantities of collodion and other solutions, and how long they'll keep.

[Ari]

Found the answer in Quinn's book.
You can mix the salts and solvents and keep them in storage. Mixing the ether with alcohol also stabilizes it.
This mixture can be added, as needed, to collodion when you need to mix a fresh batch.

Ken here also keeps his chemistry in a fridge, so I guess that's a long-term storage solution, too.

[Tin Can]

After Kent's post, I put mine in fridge too

[paulbarden]

Please, do not put your collodion in the same fridge as you keep food! This is a bad idea. I'm hoping none of you is doing that?

[paulbarden]

Found the answer in Quinn's book.
You can mix the salts and solvents and keep them in storage. Mixing the ether with alcohol also stabilizes it.
This mixture can be added, as needed, to collodion when you need to mix a fresh batch.

Yup. You can assemble all of the components of a recipe except the collodion itself, which is added only when you need a working batch of salted collodion. This way, your salts/solvents are stable for years. Collodion begins to age and decompose only when all of the components are mixed together.

[Tin Can]

I have 3 fridges, one is film and Collodion, I don't freeze film.

The camper ENGEL has Guinness Extra Stout, drinking one a day at noon for health.

Please, do not put your collodion in the same fridge as you keep food! This is a bad idea. I'm hoping none of you is doing that?