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alternative to type polaroid coater swabs

 
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Kim



Joined: 10 May 2001
Posts: 44
Location: upstate NY

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2001 1:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is difficult enough, for me anyway, to get the exposure correct on my polaroids so it is especially distressing when i mess up the coater. You name it ive done it, streaks, bubbles, dropped in dirt (face down of course) etc...in fact getting one right actually seems to be the exception. At least getting one right so that I would like to disply it. Are there alternatives? Does the coater work as a fixer and stop bath? would fixer and stop bath work? I think the finish on type 52 is fine uncoated.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Kim
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Les



Joined: 09 May 2001
Posts: 2682
Location: Detroit, MI

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2001 3:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

First off I'd try taking along a small folder of some sort. Pull the Polaroids and keep the keepers in the folder (out of direct sunlight and air) till you get home to the kitchen table. Then coat them there. yes you will get streaks, and tiny bubbles and even some lint from the coater, that's "art" as Andy Warhol calls it.

Or you could use type 54, iso 100, no coater needed, (no neg though)

Also you HAVE to have at least one uncoated polaroid on your refrigerator and watch what happens as it degrades. Some of the effects are really cool!

No, stop and fix won't work. What you are doing is....ah.....er... coating the emulsion with laquer ( or is it collodion?). This seals it from air and moisture, which turns the shadows bronze and then slowly fades the picture. I suppose you could try Aqua Net hair spray. It's mostly laquer.

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LelandRay



Joined: 24 May 2001
Posts: 115
Location: Mississippi

PostPosted: Fri Aug 03, 2001 12:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Aqua Net?????

I can see trying to explain that to the casual observer.

What about the commercial photo lacquers from McDonald's? I treat color inkjet prints with a UV inhibiting lustre spray, which not only blocks UV, but also protects against moisture. I expect it's a bit more durable than hair spray.

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Les



Joined: 09 May 2001
Posts: 2682
Location: Detroit, MI

PostPosted: Fri Aug 03, 2001 4:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well shure McDonalds and the other portrait laquers would work, but then I'd never get a reaction from readers

I used Aqua Net in school because it was cheap and my Dr. used it to seal slides with. It's mostly laquer but certainly not a refined as McDonalds.

My attitude is that all of my Polaroids were proofs, not fininshed art so if they weren't perfect it didn't matter. I still have most of them, put them in an old photo album with black (acid?) paper and stuck them in my attic (10°F-100°F) So far they've survived very well up there for 10 years.

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JoePhoto



Joined: 13 Oct 2001
Posts: 75
Location: New England

PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2001 8:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From what I've read in Ansel Adams' Polaroid Land Photography:
1.) Swab fluid is an acidic alcohol-water solution of a basic polymer.
2.) Removes traces of reagent (developer) which will attack the print.
3.) Prints should be coated fully and evenly within a short time after processing.
4.) The coating protects the image silver.
5.) Prints can be recoated by softening the dry coating with a new swab by dabbing a new coater on the print and after a short time re-coating to smooth out previous attempts.
6.) You can use the paper envelope on a smooth hard surface as a place to coat the print. I use the cardboard back from a sketch book as a coating surface.

To me, every Polaroid is one of a kind and make fine finished art.
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