Originally posted by pres589 Recommendations on how to apply the Edwal film cleaner then? Feedback on the development process as far as when to do the final rinse vs wetting agent, and then how to "do" the wetting agent? Still not warm and fuzzy to the idea of mechanically removing the water from negatives using a squeegee.
I haven't been following the thread closely so sorry if I got this wrong. But Edwal Film Cleaner is something completely different than Edwal LFN Wetting Agent that you indicate using in your description. I've used both Kodak and Edwal's film cleaner to clean a negative long after it was developed. I've ruined some with it too. Practice with that stuff on film you can sacrifice. LFN, on the other hand, is a wetting agent. It helps water roll off the negatives while drying helping to prevent spotting especially for areas that have hard water. You apply after washing your film per its directions ( a few drops per 1000ml of water for about 30 seconds).
I've been developing my own film for a long time. I've never used a squeegee or sponge to wipe my negatives dry and that is with 120 roll and sheet film too. I use Edwal's LFN, whip and shake my film free of much water as I can before hanging to dry. I've never had a problem with water spots on my negatives, FYI.