"crystals" on super 8 movie film

I have several reels of super 8 film, about 20-30 years old. Some have what

look like crystals or snowflakes on them. Some do not. Some of the sound

works, some not. Is there anything I can clean the film with without damaging

it? These have not been in damp storage, just in the closet in the house. Any

recommendations would be appreciated.

It could be mold. Cleaning is possible, but unless you're experienced in handling film, you should take it to a pro.....

That sounds like mold or fungus to me too. This is what fungus looks like on a lens:<P><center>

<img src=http://www.geocities.com/dainisjg/fungus1.jpg></center>

 

<P> The fungus may have eaten into or etched the emulsion. You can try cleaning a small section with soap and water or a little bleach to see if you have permanent damage that can not be corrected.

If this is Ektachrome type G movie film from a particular batch about 30 years ago, the problem might be a defect called snowflakes. While it looks like snow flakes, it is really voids in one of the gel layers. There is an easy way to tell. If you breath on the affected area, the moisture in your breath is usually enough to heal the voids. At the time this defect occurred, Kodak offered to re-wash the film to heal the voids and then make a copy onto Ektachrome motion picture print film. Since it has been decades and Kodak no longer has the equipment to do this, I doubt they will be able to help.

 

If this is the defect, and if you and get the film re-washed, then transfer it to DVD. That will give you a reasonable copy for a few years. Don't toss the film, because it will still last longer than the DVD.

I would try cleaning the film myself using Kodak film cleaner in case it is mould. Ideally, one has a pair of rewinds mounted some few feet apart and you place the loaded spool onto one and hand-crank it through to an empty one on the other. You then press a lint-free cloth moistened with film cleaner around the film as it comes off the take-off spool, giving the cleaner sufficient time to evaporate before the film gets wound onto the take-up spool. Not owning rewinds either, I would mount the full spool on a projector and hand-crank it to an empty spool mounted on a viewer (often called an "editor") or use two viewers or even a patient person holding a pencil that fits through the full spool centre...winding it over to the other spool ensuring they are both vertical and in line so that it can all happen smoothly without film dribbling to the floor. Obviously, test a length of film in your hand first to test whether the cleaning is effective. Change the positon of the cloth frequently to avoid scratching the film with crud that builds up on the cloth. Good luck with saving it.

I would avoid trying bleach unless you want to wash the emulsion off the base along with the mold.

 

There's some old super-8 film among our home movies that has the same thing. It started growing around a base scratch. Since it really wasn't anything important, I never tried to clean it off. Movie film cleaner like ECCO might work. There's also a strong cleaner called Filmrenew, although I don't know if it works on mold.

 

If you find a good solution, please let us know. :)