intensify collodion negatives

[Petzval Paul]

When I was trying to wet plate in India back in 2010, silver nitrate was really available for sale. Other chems that we routinely use here were absolutely forbidden to be sold to the public as they are deemed too hazardous - Cadmium bromide (or was it iodide?) and Kcn being two examples. If the poster was unable to purchase silver nitrate, I don't think that we'd be having this conversation at all.
I have used John's copper recipe but never added nitric acid. Not sure what I used, but I think that I substituted something else and it worked very well.

[rariola77]

im in the philippines. i got everything shipped thru cargo so no problem with salts and silver was in powder form. the only problem i had was finding collodion but i eventually did. i will try it without nitric acid. if u remember what you substituted please shoot me a message. and thanks again folks for all your replies. appreciate it

[ninadobrev]

Hi, Im interested in making collodion negatives. The formula Im going to be using is old workhorse and following Coffers manual will try mild intensification method. problem is i cant get nitric acid. Is there a workaround to this. I was also going to try making a dedicated negative collodion formula but I cant get Ammonium Iodide either. any suggestions is greatly appreciated. io games

How about making your own nitric acid by combining concentrated sulfuric acid and sodium nitrate is one potential workaround for the nitric acid. Inexperienced chemists should avoid using this approach because it can be harmful if not used correctly. If you do decide to use this procedure, make sure to do extensive study on it and follow all necessary safety measures.