so not getting out and shooting this summer has wasted the better part of a batch of ol reliable. i know shame on me. yesterday i got out and made a few plates with some very red collodion and crusty developer. this is the first time working with old chems. what ratio can i mix old and new collodion? im sure the info is on here somewhere im just being lazy.

How old is the OR? How is it working? It should last 6 months to a year if not stored in too hot on an environment.

I would try mixing 50/50 but in SMALL batches. No need to dump it all together to try it. If it doesnt work good you wont waste very much of the new stuff.

almost a year old. real contrasty. but still worked somewhat. 25 second exposure in good light. i was thinking of making a half batch and maybe adding 1/4 old collodion.

pour some on a piece of glass and let it dry. If it dries cloudy...pitch it. if it dries clear/ gold tinted clear...its good. Smell it. If it smells like old paint..pitch it.

remember, test your varnish with this on a test plate before using it on a good image.

make new developer.

thanks ray i will try that. it still smelles "good" it did produce an image just took a while. i did notice when taking it out of the silver bath it had a slightly diffent look than usual.