Pushed some expired film and the grain went wild, in a good way

I grabbed a few rolls of 200 speed film that expired back in 2019 from a garage sale in Cleveland for like 5 bucks. Shot it at 800 and pushed it two stops in Rodinal, which I normally never do with old stock. The grain came out super chunky and the contrast just popped, honestly looked like something from the 70s. I think the trick was using a longer agitation schedule, 30 seconds initial then 5 gentle inversions every minute. Has anyone else had luck pushing film that's way past its date, or did I just get lucky with this batch?

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vera51420h agoTop Commenter

The "like something from the 70s" part is what got me thinking. Most people forget that film from back then had a different base and emulsion thickness, so when you push expired stock you're basically mimicking that old look by accident. But here's the thing nobody talks about: the storage conditions matter way more than the date. If that garage sale roll sat in a hot car for a decade, you'd get fog and mush, not nice chunky grain. You got lucky that someone probably kept it in a basement or closet, cool and dry. My own expired rolls from a thrift store in Phoenix turned out like muddy soup, so your Cleveland roll might just be better kept than you think.