I have many boxes of Polaroid 803 and 804 film, expired for almost twenty years now. The chemicals in the pods have completely dried out, and I was tempted many times to throw them all away—but somehow, I never did. And now I’m very glad about that.

I also have a few remaining chemical pods from other Polaroid types—some nearly dried out or oxidized. I decided to carefully open a few and extract the chemistry. I was convinced they wouldn’t work anymore, but surprisingly, they still do!

Since I can’t use them as pods or run them through the Polaroid processor, I started brushing the chemicals directly onto the paper, then sandwiching it with the film and pressing them together under great pressure. It was a wild experiment—and it worked!

It’s still far from perfect. There are plenty of artifacts—mostly caused by brushing the “goo” onto the paper—but I’m hoping to reduce them over time.

The results are imperfect, full of unexpected artifacts, but strangely beautiful. Each print carries traces of decay and rebirth.

After developing, I wash the Polaroid to remove the remaining chemicals (a step normally done by the processor), which ensures the final image remains stable.

I’m still refining the process, but I wanted to share some of these first results here—the beginnings. Some are 4x5 Polapan 100, others 8x10 Polaroid 803, and one even a Polaroid X-ray film that’s larger than 8x10.

These 8x10 Polaroids are incredibly sharp, and I’m now considering using them to make larger platinum prints. I’ve always been searching for a way to bring a touch of unpredictability—some controlled imperfection—into my work, and perhaps this is the path I’ve been looking for.

Oh and forgot to mention, that expose them in the darkroom using a interposetiv/slide in my enlarger.

I’m learning as I go and would love to hear your thoughts or feedback.

And if by any chance you still have 8x10 Polaroid materials—even ones that no longer work—I’d be more than happy to take them off your hands.