Cleaning negatives

[sjefjans]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I found some interesting old film strips that I would like to scan in my Nikon Coolscan. Now, funny enough these film strips have a strip of yellow paper glued to the site. In the yellow paper there are holes presumably to be able to put them inside an ordners or something.

When I remove the yellow paper the negative strip stays sticky. I don't want it to get stuck inside my scanner. So, what can I do to clean off the stickyness.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Messsucherkamera]

You might give denatured alcohol a try.

 

Alcohol will remove some types of adhesives and evaporate, leaving no residue of its own. Denatured alcohol is in essence purified or "distilled" alcohol so there are no chemical impurities or residue to leave behind when it evaporates.

 

I would try applying it with a Q-tip, taking care to keep the Q-tip away from the emulsion of the negative to avoid scratching.

 

Hope this will help.

[Nick_S]

I found some interesting old film strips that I would like to scan in my Nikon Coolscan. Now, funny enough these film strips have a strip of yellow paper glued to the site. In the yellow paper there are holes presumably to be able to put them inside an ordners or something.

When I remove the yellow paper the negative strip stays sticky. I don't want it to get stuck inside my scanner. So, what can I do to clean off the stickyness.

 

If they are not too many such films to scan, why not get hold of an FH-3 film strip holder and just scan them as they are with the yellow paper on the edge? (which I presume is not in the image area). The film strip holder will prevent the gummed paper coming off.

 

Nick

[Paulus]

I found some interesting old film strips that I would like to scan in my Nikon Coolscan. Now, funny enough these film strips have a strip of yellow paper glued to the site. In the yellow paper there are holes presumably to be able to put them inside an ordners or something.

When I remove the yellow paper the negative strip stays sticky. I don't want it to get stuck inside my scanner. So, what can I do to clean off the stickyness.

 

I always use vinigar to clean my films, but this works best for chalk stains. But maybe it works.

[sjefjans]

Thanks for the ideas. I have tried benzine, not the kind you fill your car with, but the kind you use to clean brushes. It worked, but not very quickly. Will try alcohol as well. Maybe that will do better.

Vinigar is a good idea for chal stains which I do not have very much since I use deminiralised water to develop and to rinse my films. But I am sure I have older negatives which could use some vinigar ;=))

[CalArts 99]

This product has been around forever and is quite good for non-water based adhesives and general cleaning of negatives and prints. Give it a try on a small section for a test (if the adhesive is not water based, then it should work well to remove it.) Just Ltd - PEC 12 Photographic Emulsion Cleaner (118ml) Spray

[pico]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

This product has been around forever and is quite good for non-water based adhesives and general cleaning of negatives and prints. Give it a try on a small section for a test (if the adhesive is not water based, then it should work well to remove it.) Just Ltd - PEC 12 Photographic Emulsion Cleaner (118ml) Spray

 

Yes, that's good stuff.

 

Regarding alcohol, you would do best with isopropyl which is 98% pure. Rubbing alcohol is a no-no because it is not pure. Denatured alcohol is not the same as isopropyl because denatured can have a number of different kinds of chemicals added to make it 'denatured' - IOW, to make it poisonous or impossible to distill into pure ethanol.

 

Use a new micro-fiber cloth. Most recommendations were made before such cloths were available.

 

An odd case is Kodachrome after 1952 - Kodak's own film cleaner is best. First try the cleaner. If it does not work (unlikely), look carefully at the dismounted slide. There might be a clear coat, but only on the image part, not the sprockets. In this case, soak the slide in Dektol (for the alkali), rinse well and try the cleaner again.

[Paulus]

Thanks for the ideas. I have tried benzine, not the kind you fill your car with, but the kind you use to clean brushes. It worked, but not very quickly. Will try alcohol as well. Maybe that will do better.

Vinigar is a good idea for chal stains which I do not have very much since I use deminiralised water to develop and to rinse my films. But I am sure I have older negatives which could use some vinigar ;=))

 

Is benzine not to agressive?

[tobey bilek]

Cut the paper edge with scissors. Chemicals will remove the film stabilizer causing localized fading in time.

[CalArts 99]

Just for the record, PEC-12 is used by museums including MOMA and the CCP. Just Ltd - Cleaning Products for Cameras and all Optical Equipment - PEC-12 Photographic Emulsion Cleaner

 

Since the OP is scanning using the Nikon Coolscan and no doubt with the SA-21 film adapter, they need to be wary about trimming the sprocket holes if they decide to cut the paper with scissors.

[pico]

Just for the record, PEC-12 is used by museums including MOMA and the CCP. Just Ltd - Cleaning Products for Cameras and all Optical Equipment - PEC-12 Photographic Emulsion Cleaner

 

Since the OP is scanning using the Nikon Coolscan and no doubt with the SA-21 film adapter, they need to be wary about trimming the sprocket holes if they decide to cut the paper with scissors.

 

True! The film transport uses the sprocket holes to register the frames. If you doubt this then try scanning a roll of 35mm microfiche.

[Nick_S]

As I mentioned above, Nikon's FH-3 film strip holder avoids having to worry about chemically removing anything outside the edge of the image area or cutting the film strip edges --- just insert the FH-3 holder into the supplied MA-21 slide mounter adapter.

 

Nick