Cleaning Negatives

[Spellinator]

Okay, I've spent some time searching the forums and I haven't found an answer.

How should negatives be cleaned (dust removal, fingerprints, dirt, scratches)?
1. Compressed Air ONLY
2. Photoflo
3. PEC-12
4. Edwal No Scratch
5. Isopropyl Alcohol
6. Methanol
7. Other - please explain

I'm scanning negatives and want them to be clean as possible.


Thanks,
Danny

[PIC]

Your answer is in the order you stated above.
It all depends how dirty and what kind of dirt.
Start with less harsh methods and advance to harsher to get the jobe required.
Same logic in cleaning digital sensors and lens.


Note - Digital ICE - on some scanners - and Photoshop are great ways to clean up the files w software.

[venchka]

Assuming freshly processed & washed & dried, a gentle swipe with an anti-static brush and a squirt of canned air after placing the negatives in the scanner carrier works for me.

I have some old negatives that probably need serious cleaning. I bit the bullet. Scanned as is and cleaned up in Lightoom. It took awhile but I didn't do any harm to the negatives.

[Spellinator]

Thanks for the feedback.

[Dobick]

If they are a week or a month or a year old: (wondering here if there is a problem at certain age) would it be ok to re-wash, or is that likely to damage them?

[venchka]

Rewashing can help. Especially for new negatives. Final rinse in distilled water and Photo-Flo. I use about half the Photo-Fol that Kodak suggests.

Good luck.