Cleaning slides

[donald_miller5]

<p>Scanning my treasure trove of slides beginning from the 40's still. Some Kodachrome and ektachrome. What is best way to clean? So far I left them just the way I found them for fear of doing damage.</p>

[bethe_fisher]

<p>With most of the older slides and negatives I've scanned, I've considered it easier to clean the scan than to clean the slide/neg. I also know that by scanning first, if I do clean them and mess them up, I have the image anyway. <br>

If yours are just dusty, then a light brushing might get that off (I'd use a brush meant for this). Any wiping might scratch them. </p>

[GerrySiegel]

If they are really dirty, you can try a commercial film cleaner- I still have a bottle of Kodak's) on the backing side of the slide. You must be more careful with the emulsion. Slides like Kodachrome had a coating. And I found that I could actually use lens wipe paper to gently remove haze. If grit has got into the emulsion or there is fungus, you are best spotting the digital copy. Gently is the secret adverb. Slides are surprisingly robust I have found..take your time. Or farm out the work to places that have the technique down cold. Good luck. Also quality scanners had an infrared device and software that reduced some of the dust seem to me, was it called ICE or something...who remembers?

[donald_miller5]

<p>Scanvue has the infrared feature and I use it. Both comments tend to confirm my thoughts that it might be best to leave them if I do not have the technique to do it right or maybe a professional. I never thought of mold. Can its progression be halted if it is present. Sunlight is one of the best fungicides there is (2 specific uv wavelengths) but also a good way to fade them or other degradation.</p>

[GerrySiegel]

If mildew has gotten into the gelatin emulsion beneath the protective lacquer, do not even think of dealing with it, except to clone it out after copying. Not hard to deal with in photoshop or the like. Slides almost always profit from some touch up for one reason or another. Pick the best ones and set aside a couple hundred weekends. Just kidding..gs As to slide storage, you will get a flock of different ideas on how to keep it at bay. I have no answer. Have a sneaky feeling that a wooden mahogany box is better than plastic or metal. I mean wooden trees live in a microbial world, but no scientific proof. Air conditioning is one way. Keep them with spaces between. Some in my archival plastic sleeves have done well, others not. Some in the old yellow boxes have done well, some not. So getting them digitized is a prudent thing for now. Best to you . Me too, lots and lots of slides.

[jim_service]

<p>I used to clean slides often, but it was a long time ago. As Gerry said, slide film is pretty robust.<br>

For a really dirty slide, the first thing I would do is to give it a good brush off. I used a large camel hair or Japanese writing brush. Then for the crap that brushing wouldn't remove, I would remove the film from the frame and hold it by one corner under running water, gently (gently!) wiping it between my (clean) fingers. Set it aside to dry and remount it in a replacement frame.<br>

For those who are freaking out about using water and fingers, here's the deal... yes, water will soften the emulsion, but it takes some time, maybe 3 or 4 minutes, before any handling would leave some damage, while the wiping procedure I used is done in 15 seconds.<br>

I tried alcohol, but it softened the emulsion almost immediately.<br>

As someone who has slides going back to the 50's, I've done this literally hundreds of times.</p>