Wet Mount Scanning Fluid

[Richard Martel]

I recall reading somewhere that some brand/s of scanning fluid is 10% mineral oil and 90% Naptha. I have used light mineral oil in the past but it is a pain to clean. Used mild dishwashing detergent, cotton balls and running water.
Today while cleaning some items with "Ronsonol" lighter fluid I noticed that it was Naptha and it evaperated fast with no visable residue.

I get mylar courtesy of a local printer.

If I were not leaving, in a few days, for a month photo shoot I would try it myself, on some backup negs, as I think it may be worth the try.

Good luck.

Regards, Richard

[shileshjani]

I have used Ronsonol for a few years now - no issue that I can tell.

Shilesh

[Richard Martel]

Hi Shilesh,

Please tell us more. What, if you do, mix it with? In what proportion?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks for the input.

Regards, Richard

[shileshjani]

I did not invent this use - I am sure I read it someplace. I use it on the glass holder of a Polaroid SS 120 scanner. A few drops of fluid, film emulsion down, wipe with Pec Pad, and scan. I just shake the film dry afterwards. I have also used one of those film cleaners for the same purpose.

Please use caution - this is flamable stuff, and I am not endorsing its use.

[IanMazursky]

I found the MSDS pdf for the Ronsonol lighter fluid.
Kami looks a bit more pure then lighter fluid and a little safer. Id rather use Kami on my drums then lighter fluid.
Ive heard that lighter fluid can damage the acrylic drums so i wont risk it but I think its fine for glass and glass drums.

I do know a number of scanner operators who used to use Ronsonol on the Hell drum scanners.
They loved it but on occasion blew themselves up. Not kidding they did.
Static is a killer working around solvents.

[Bruce Watson]

I can't imagine why anyone would want to endanger their film and/or their equipment using household chems to do work they were never intended to do.

Why not use chems. that are intended for the duty proposed? Chems. that have been proven to be safe for film, and safe for scanners? What's wrong with using scanner mounting fluid when doing fluid mounts on a scanner?

[Richard Martel]

Just because a household "chemical" is bottled in a container to clean toilet bowls does not mean you can't use that same chemical to brush your teeth, if that same "chemical" happens to be a major ingredient in toothpaste. If one wishes to use Perrier instead of tap water, so be it. I stated that I read somewhere that naptha, as in Ronsonol, was a major ingredient in mounting fluid and it seems that some of the posters concure,or at least using naptha albeit with a valid warning. I think this is NOT the post to start a flame war. (insert grin here)
I think more documentation would be nice.

Ifound the referal to naptha and lighter fluid. Direct quote below...Quite the coincidence.

"Bruce Watson7-Mar-2006, 19:23
Just so you'll know, the MSDS for both Kami and Prazio anti-Newton fluid both indicate that the fluids are Naptha based. IIRC, basically lighter fluid. Clearly they are somewhat different because the have different evaporation rates, and Kami fluid is rumored to have some anti-static properties.

So, basically, you are using a solvent. To make a solvent go away, you typically use another, higher volitility solvent. Which is why the film cleaner route works.

If you decide to use something other than film cleaner, please post your results. Might be interesting."

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Regards, Richard

[Richard Martel]

This is Azteks MSDS on their mounting fluid.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/pdf/ms...ting_Fluid.pdf

Regards, Richard

[Thebes]

Is the Kami significantly less flammable than Ronsonol?

[Bruce Watson]

Just because a household "chemical" is bottled in a container to clean toilet bowls does not mean you can't use that same chemical to brush your teeth, if that same "chemical" happens to be a major ingredient in toothpaste.

That's true. It is also true that the household product hasn't been tested and shown to be safe to use to brush your teeth. It's ironic you should pick this particular example after the debacle of the Chinese putting diethylene glycol in tooth paste just a couple of years ago. It's unknown / unexpected impurities that I'm worried about.

For just one example, one of the big dangers to photographic film is water. It swells and softens the emulsion and makes it much easier to scratch and to embed dust and crud. For older color films it can dissolve and remove the final rinse products from the emulsion and make the dye image more susceptible to fading and the gelatin more susceptible to biological attack. IOW, if the product you want to use to fluid mount with contains water, you might not like the results. But it might not contain any water, so you might be fine. The point is, no one knows, so you are working in the dark.

What the commercial mounting fluids have going for them is that they've been designed for and tested for fluid mounted scanning. This means that they have the optical performance, they won't damage your film or damage your scanner, and they in general clean up fairly easily without leaving a residue.

Can you use other things? Sure -- it's your film and your scanner. You can use shoe polish if you want. Or honey. Whatever makes you happy. But just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Just sayin'.