Once the printer finds that print time point, for that negative, with the corresponding preferred float time, that controls the highlights, just as development time controls the negative densities representing the highlights. Same principle. Once the highlights are reached, all the zones/tonal ranges below are pretty much permanent. That is not to say that one isn't able to work backwards several tonal ranges of gum removal. It can be done, by increasing water temperature, length of float time, even begin physical removal with a brush or stream of water. Unless one is saving the image from an ill conceived application, wanting to rid as much as possible, such removal techniques are destructive to an otherwise fine image.
I have had to resort to extended techniques of gum removal, but it was not for enhancement, it was therapeutic, having seen a line of gum color migration over an lighter area not intending to receive any of that color, when it was almost too late. As mentioned before I fail to see red/green unless it is real obvious. Subtle shades mixed within other colors and lots of gray and colors disappear, falling into a sort of neutral gradient. I saw the color run only because it was across a lighter area, and I see patterns and shades well enough. The object was to get that streak removed. When you heat the water sufficiently to do such a job, it would be somewhere over 80 F to 90F, and retain any control over removal, as at that temperature the entire matrice of gum layers begin to soften, any gum not fully dried before would begin to loosen, over the entire image area.
I used a small tipped artist's brush and water at about 80 F and daubed the water over the run until it was soft, then used another smaller and stiffer brush to wipe back and forth over the run until it was gone. And that is why I keep my float temperature below 68 F, preferrably around 65 F. In doing this, the floating affect on the gum is slowed to a crawl, thus allowing me more control. The object of each print layer is to print up to the desired tonal range. That demands the printer knows the print time to reach, and go just beyond zone 7, to float the gum back to a desired point in zone 7. If warm water is used, the entire gum layer is affected a lot. When cold water is used, it stiffens the gum, holding it in place without floating away, so during the floating, the majority of gum floated off is strictly at the highlights. The maneuver is to float just enough away to show zone 7 fully. Zone 7 is the 'top' print point. This negative needed a twelve minute palladium print time, the zone 7 print point for me then is 15 minutes, which proved to be true. With a one minute float time in 65 F water, the gum is just beginning to come off zone 7. A two minute float time would remove even more of zone 7, leaving the color beneath it, which is what I did with this print.
Zone 7 print time is 15 minutes on this image, and for this color layer I didn't want to cover over the ochre color underneath the raw umber color I was applying. The print time I used this layer was 12 minutes. Enough time to print up to the highlights but not remain during the float time. All the darker tones beneath zone 7 get the benefit of this new color layer. Another benefit of the colder water, as noted earlier keeps the gum from running, due to very soft gum. Water temperature is one of the control variables at hand.
Gum Layer #2 ~ Split color ~ Pthalo Blue and Raw Umber
The gum was applied locally for deepening the shadows, coloring the mid-tones and increasing separation between tonal values in foreground to background.
* Note: The prevailing yellowish color over the image is the dichromate stain.
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