Material to block windows of portable darkroom boxes for wet plate collodion

[John Fink Jr.]

Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone has used this material to block their windows or portable darkroom boxes for wet plate collodion work.
I'm setting up a basement space as well as a darkroom tent and I need to block the windows. Here's the info it gives on their site.
Thanks for the help and advice.

Rubylith Masking Film 40"x150" Roll (Window Blockout Film)

Ulano Rubylith Masking Film


The Rubylith film is great for use in screen darkrooms. Rubylith blocks out UV rays while still letting natural light through into the room. It can be used to blockout windows and light fictures to insure a light safe environment in your darkroom. Among other things Rubylith can also be used as a positive film when run through a vinyl plotter. Instructions for Use w/ Plotter To Create Positive Films from Rubylith Film.

[Jim Andrada]

I haven't used it - just staring out in wet plate, but used to use it for screen printing ages ago. I think it would work wonderfully. I suspect that even something like red cellophane might work well enough. You might ask Garrett Allen or Mark Sawyer who both post here frequently.

[cosmicexplosion]

I have seen red windows on wet plate mobile dark rooms.
I think at Asa 1 your pretty sweet.

[John Fink Jr.]

Thanks guys. I await Mark's input.

[Mark Sawyer]

Oh, I wouldn't trust that Sawyer guy, he's an idiot...

I haven't tried rubylith, but have thought about it. It looks identical in color and density to red plexiglass, which I have used, and here are my experiences with that:

I made a dark box with red plexi windows a while back, and found that it worked well in the shade, but direct sun coming through would fog the plates, even if it didn't hit them directly. But I didn't like working in the box, and it's sitting abandoned on my back porch.

I recently bought an ice-fishing tent, and replaced one of the windows with a piece of red plexiglass. It was the window that would face into the sun and was right behind where the plates were being poured/loaded/developed, so I spray-painted red paint over it to darken it a little more. It worked well, no trace of fogging, and I'll soon make new panels for the other windows and try them without the red paint, just the red plexi. Garrett and I used the tent in our recent wet plate workshop, and liked it a lot.

Here's the tent I have, and I much prefer it to a dark box, if that's an option for you:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-XL-ICE-F...item2561bcc71b

[Jim Andrada]

Hi Mark

I agree with everything you said.

Except the first sentence of course!!! I'm coming back to Tucson tomorrow, currently in Tokyo. Hopefully we can get a quorum for the glass plate extension of the workshop in the next couple of weeks. I'm still trying to figure out how to keep my wife from disowning me if I get one of the tents! It was really nice to work in except maybe for the tricky door panel that tried to trip everyone going through it. I just have the funny feeling that if I get one she'll "invite" me to spend my nights in it instead of in the house!

[Mark Sawyer]

Well, Jim, she might like it better than you stinking up the house with collodion and fixer! You're right about the tent's doorway, but all the ice-fishing tents have that diamond-shaped door, pointy at the top and bottom, and with the pole arrangement, it can't be altered.

We'll pick a day for the glass plates soon!

[Bruce Schultz]

Yes it works fine. Be aware however that eventually it fades and will start to allow UV light to penetrate. But I have use the same dark box often on for the past five years and have had a problem.

[John Fink Jr.]

Thanks everyone.
Mark, I have invested in a Eskimo Quick Fish 3 Ice Shelter which is basically the same as yours only it's orange/red and can be seen from outer space.
My question about the plexiglass is how thick is it? I assume you have it set up with velcro and remove it when folding the tent?

Bruce, did you mean to say you "have" had a problem?

Thanks again to everyone for their help!!!

[Mark Sawyer]

Hi, John! I used 1/8 inch plexiglass mounted on a piece of masonite cut to the shape of the window. The black strapping around the edges is velcro, so these go on the same way as the original all-fabric windows. Yup, they come off when I break down the tent. The rigidity of the masonite helps get a more light-proof seal along the velcro.

I considered the Eskimo tents, but went with the "Killzone" brand because the cloth is twice as heavy, (600 denier vs. 300 denier). The red color would have been nice, though! Does it act as an effective safelight with no fogging, and does it let enough light through to work by? If it does, maybe a similar material would be a better option than rubylith, which is a bit delicate.