35mm negatives have glue along one edge

po90260 · Jan 20, 2010

I'm scanning old 35mm negative strips and many of them have a holder taped along the edge which must be removed before scanning. When removed they leave a gluey residue along the edge when causes the Nikon 4000 film/slide scanner to error. I need an inexpensive way to clean off this glue along the edge. The image area is clean so I only need to clean the edge near the holes, about 1/8".

Sirius Glass · Jan 20, 2010

Kodak or Ilford (?) negative cleaner. Anything other than photographic products may damage the negatives either short term or long term. Therefore forget rubbing alcohol.

Steve

po90260 · Jan 20, 2010

Sirius Glass said:
Kodak or Ilford (?) negative cleaner. Anything other than photographic products may damage the negatives either short term or long term. Therefore forget rubbing alcohol.

Steve

Alcohol does not clean it and I'm not cleaning the whole negative, just where adhesive handling strip which was attached to the edge left a gluey residue. I'll be cleaning the edge with a Q-tip swab with whatever works, not touching the image. I don't want to buy expensive specialty products if something cheap like WD40 will clean it.

DWThomas · Jan 20, 2010

No idea about long term effects, but in my experience naptha, aka lighter fluid, is generally more effective than alcohol on adhesives. I have never used it on film that I can remember, however.

Jon Shiu · Jan 20, 2010

PEC 12 is a good solvent-type film cleaner, would leave less residue than WD40.

Jon

Sirius Glass · Jan 20, 2010

po90260 said:
Alcohol does not clean it and I'm not cleaning the whole negative, just where adhesive handling strip which was attached to the edge left a gluey residue. I'll be cleaning the edge with a Q-tip swab with whatever works, not touching the image. I don't want to buy expensive specialty products if something cheap like WD40 will clean it.

If I remember correctly the Kodak negative and slide cleaner is not expensive, check on line with the usual suspects and APUG sponsors: FreeStyle, B&H, ...

Steve

Blacknoise · Jan 20, 2010

Go with proper products, putting WD40 on there is asking for trouble imho.

Bob-D659 · Jan 20, 2010

WD40 is kerosene and oil, not a cleaning solvent, not a lube for that matter either. WD stands for water displacer. PEC12 is mostly methanol, and it will have problems with some adhesives.

ricksplace · Jan 21, 2010

How about cutting off the gluey part? You're going to scan it anyway.

po90260 · Jan 21, 2010

ricksplace said:
How about cutting off the gluey part? You're going to scan it anyway.

If I cut it off, the Nikon 4000 scanner probably will not be able to handle it safely or at all.

po90260 · Jan 29, 2010

The local photo store said to use "denatured" alcohol but it didn't work either.

Bob-D659 · Jan 29, 2010

Try Ronsonol or Zippo liquid lighter fluid, commonly sold in plastic bottles, also known as naptha. Another option is coleman stove fuel another grade of naptha. Just pour some of the coleman fuel in a film can so your not working with a large can in the house. Dampen a qtip with either liquid and gently rub on the adhesive.

GinaMaree · Feb 1, 2010

I've used lighter fluid (Ronsonol) to clean mystery gunk off negatives in a class at ICP. [Well, in the hallway, not actually in the classroom.] Squirt some lighter fluid onto a q-tip then spray the tip with compressed air to remove the excess fluid. Rub gently in one direction.

35mm negatives have glue along one edge

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