Topic: Expired before it's time...the great polaroid experiment

[moominsean]

i have an idea that would require multiple people to sacrifice a pack of polaroid for the greater good. trying different methods to make new film old before it's time. i realize that any method will end up with mostly arbitrary results, depending on the film and environmental factors...but it could be fun just to see what happens! and if multiple people are willing to try this, then the 'hurt' isn't so bad from the possible destruction of a perfectly good pack of polaroid. if it works, might make a good 'feature article'.
here are some of my ideas:
- soak in water and let dry completely, then use...might just make the paper wrinkly.
- soak in some chemical...leon might be helpful here, as i have no idea what might neutralize developer (which i realize is in little packets, but who knows what could get through) or the paper, screwing up the pack totally.
- leave out in the sun/outside for awhile (not sure how long it would take to dry it out, though...probably not long here where it's 110 F) -- foil on/off?
- bury in soil (without foil of course), leave for a week...damp would be good.
- microwave?
- tape to roof of car for awhile.
- EXTREME cold?
- spit in the pack a lot and let it dry? or let your dog do it...
- leave it in the catbox for a couple days.
- fry it up in a pan
any other ideas?

one way of not ruining a whole pack would be to use some remaining shots, so all you know you've lost for sure is the shot on top, while those underneath would suffer your abuse.
i wonder if the expiration of polaroid is mostly due to the developer going bad, or the paper itself, or a combo of both. seems like paper should last a long time, but 20 years is a long time for anything photo related.

anyway...just a possible fun exercise.
sean

[Skorj]

- soak in water and let dry completely, then use...might just make the paper wrinkly.
This might be a possible, but water would weaken the tabs for sure. Just the prints wet would be interesting. Post-development wetting perhaps?

- soak in some chemical...leon might be helpful here, as i have no idea what might neutralize developer
Polaroid chemicals I think are unique? A post developing wash might be interesting though!

- leave out in the sun/outside for awhile
This I like. Not in foil. Dry out the stuff.
 
- bury in soil (without foil of course), leave for a week...damp would be good.
This has been done with prints, and would promote all sorts of nasties. I would prefer the lo developer function.

- microwave?
Yikes! Might dry pods nicely, but I suspect they will pop - like popcorn.

- tape to roof of car for awhile.
Or leave in sun on dashboard?

- EXTREME cold?
Nah. This will make developer not spread properly, just giving missed parts on the print? Desirable sometimes, but very unpredictable. Freezing may also burst the pod? 

- spit in the pack a lot and let it dry? or let your dog do it...
Yurg.

- leave it in the catbox for a couple days.
Double yurg.

- fry it up in a pan
The smell! Fuji packs are plastic. What a mess!

- any other ideas?
Mold is nice? The best results for me at least appear to come from partially dried pods, and thickened goop. A few age spots, and some mis-spreading goop would also be nice. Heating slowly, then allowing to cool might be a good path?

[astrobeck]

I can speak from experience on freezing it.
Don't do it.   
 I lost 2 packs last year on a road trip to Utah because my Polaroid kit froze.   


I think a little heat and dryness help the goop act  desirably wacky sometimes. 

[LT]

- soak in some chemical...leon might be helpful here, as i have no idea what might neutralize developer

sorry, cant help - Poloroid is an alien concept to me.  Maybe you could try some "Preparation P"?  lol

[Francois]

Try the oven at 100?F overnight...
Might want to wrap the pack in aluminum foil just in case...
Though the toxic vapor that will come out of it might not be the best...

[kucharo]

Perhaps a succession of heating and cooling. Assuming of course that the goop becomes viscous again after a cooling episode.

Step 1. Take a heat gun to the pack.
Step 2. Throw it in the fridge for a bit.
Repeat...

 I'm guessing, but I think the primary variable in the degradation of the film is desiccation. So a process of slow drying will prematurely age it. Perhaps throw some of those packet desiccants in with the pack.

We need a chemist!

[Francois]

Actually, the heat gun idea might be pretty close to what you're looking for. It is quite directional so you can avoid overheating the chemical pod...
Though, since a real heat gun goes to a few hundred degrees, a hot hair dryer might be safer.

[Ed Wenn]

We need a chemist!

APUG anyone?