What do you know, it turns out that C41 chemicals last a very long time. My solution of Bellini Foto developer was two years old and had been used with 16 rolls before I discarded it yesterday. I suspect it went bad only because the plastic bottle cracked and let in air, which caused the chemical to oxidise.
WIth an exposed roll of Kodak Ultramax already loaded in the developing tank, I prepared a fresh solution of the same developer from a bottle of concentrate that had been stored for more than a year. But without new bleach and fixer, I took the gamble of re-using two-year-old solutions. I transferred the chemicals to new bottles replacing the broken ones and warmed them to 41 degrees Celcius in a water bath. I tempered the film in the tank to 38 degrees for 3 minutes, poured in the fresh developer at 41 degrees, agitated frequently with a figure-eight motion for 3.5 minutes, poured in the bleach, agitated continuously for 45 seconds, poured in the fixer, agitated for 120 seconds, and finally rinsed with fresh stabiliser. I hanged the negative to dry and stowed the chemicals in the usual storage place that gives them their long shelf life—the dark spot under the stairs.
What came out are probably the best negatives I’ve produced since starting C41 development.
