The only time I'm gotten stain is when I went from fix (reg Kodak) to Sel rapid 1:20. It was an overall pinkish stain. The problem can be prevented by an intermediate bath in Kodalk 1/4 tsp/Qt H2O. But since then I do a partial wash-30min, dry, then selenium tone the prints I like
I believe that Adams placed his prints in a bath of plain hypo prior to selenium toning. If you are using regular thiosulfate fix, I think your fixing should be for closer to 10 minutes, and the fix should be non-hardening if you plan to selenium tone. After toning I would recommend three minutes in Kodak hypo clearing agent with agitation, followed by a 1 to 3 hour wash, depending on your water and your washer.
Thank you everyone for your very helpful responses. I'm pretty much convinced that the problem was with the toning process. There seems to be more than one view on this. Some say go staight into the toner from the hypo, while others say wash completely before going in. Ansel Adams say straight in from fix. Bruce Barbaum lets his soak in a try of water after the second fix before he tones them. I'm not sure why I bleached my prints after the second fix instead of before this time. I'm not sure why that would have caused the problem, but I won't do that again. I guess in light of the differnces of opinion I had better follow the directions on the Selenium toner and wash thoughly before toning and wash again after.
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