tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3058180378437995577.post4548716400821286396..comments2023-08-22T06:37:59.379-04:00Comments on nonfigurativephoto: A word about greenery...dcollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13211802069564554414noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3058180378437995577.post-26239926777223769172011-08-09T08:35:22.972-04:002011-08-09T08:35:22.972-04:00From my experience I recommend - no, I insist - th...From my experience I recommend - no, I insist - that users of varnishes, whether spray or brushable, don their respirator while these materials are wet and open to the environment. Even if the area is not enclosed, unless you're on a windswept moor somewhere. Try the 3M 7500 series of half-facepiece models (they come in different head sizes) and be sure to get the R6001 organic vapor cartridges that go with it. You will not have to learn to love the taste of squash..dcollinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13211802069564554414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3058180378437995577.post-5059560059434500982011-08-08T16:47:44.627-04:002011-08-08T16:47:44.627-04:00All good suggestions, Doug. Of course the issue is...All good suggestions, Doug. Of course the issue is sort of that once one comes to love the effects that can be achieved with the decidedly non-green MSA varnish, it is hard to wean oneself away...much like learning to love the taste of squash if you've spent your entire life eating animals, I guess. I've used tape and frisket before with mildly interesting results but return again and again to hard varnishes because that seems to be the effect I appreciate most.rhthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08044521832194610341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3058180378437995577.post-31904379636599047762011-08-06T17:06:11.889-04:002011-08-06T17:06:11.889-04:00An important subject to talk about, Rich. As for ...An important subject to talk about, Rich. As for paper developers, Silvergrain Tektol used to be pretty nontoxic - no HQ, no metol - and Chris Anderson used to tout it, I believe. It's basically a vitamin C based developer, with some potassium carbonate thrown in as accelerator. Since last year it's been called Eco-Pro but the formulation as I understand it is the same. There are many other nontoxic developers: coffee is one (see our post from April 2011), although the double expresso I drink may cross the line.<br /> As for fixers, you can't formulate away from them too much, at least at this stage of our knowledge, but if I were green, even greenish, I might go with sodium thio rather than ammonium thio.<br /> For resists, it's true we've grown to love our mineral spirits acrylic (MSA) varnish, but again, there are nontoxic ways to go, many of which require a concentrated course of experiment with varieties of materials. In the simplest cases, if you want something to lift off, then syrup or glue might be a good bet; if you want to lift it yourself then try tape, frisket, or even clay, they all work. But the holy grail of resists remains to be found. Where is Monty Python?dcollinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13211802069564554414noreply@blogger.com