D-76 vs Clayton F76

[borret]

Tom, I know you have tried Clayton F76. How does it compare with D-76?

[Tom A]

Someone gave me a bottle of Clayton F76 and I tried it. Works fine, good details. Problem was that once the bottle was opened it went bad fairly quickly and I started to get some rather under deveoped negs from it. It had been opened by the former owner (1-2 months prior to me getting it and one batch of film processed) - once I started using it, it went bad in about 3-4 weeks.
The D76 is consistent, but again you can't really safely store it for more than 4-5 weeks or it starts changing (rougher grain, higher contrast).
The Clayton is fine if you are doing 20-30 rolls a month as is the D76. The Calyton is easier to use as it is a liquid - but more expensive in the long run.
Image quality is pretty much the same - Clayton might have a bit of an edge there though.
I mix most of my developers from scratch - easy and controllable - and I can manipulate them to meet my requirements. Yes, it is cheaper too.
Tom

[Benjamin Marks]

Tom: Any theories as to what the "secret sauce" is in the Clayton? I always assumed it was the same formula as D-76 with a couple of extra tweaks.

[Benjamin Marks]

Hmm, MSDS sheet at Freestyle for Clayton F76 Plus lists Potassium Hydroxide as an ingredient - probably to get the right alkalinity. I definitely don't remember that as a D-76 ingredient. MSDS here:

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/pdf/msds/clayton/Clayton_F76_Developer.pdf

[borret]

Tom: I used to mix D-76 and D-72 from scratch, but I haven't done so in a long time. The photo stores in Montreal no longer carry bulk chemicals. Where do you buy photo chemicals in Canada?

[Harry Lime]

From what I remember Clayton 76 is not a D76 clone, but closer to something like Ilford DD-X. And DD-X tends to oxidize pretty quickly once you open it. Something like 3 months with a half full bottle. Then it crystallizes, turns yellow and goes bad.