50 year old print and water stain

[wbryant]

Hey, a friend from work had a flood in her apartment over the weekend and nothing too bad, but she is the most upset about an approximately 50 year old portrait of her grandmother that got nasty water stains on it. I have not seen this print but she describes it as kinda thick, but kinda bendy, and black and white. (her words not mine) Question. Can I re-soak this to remove the water stains? what about re-fixing? Is there any way I can help her get this picture back?? I don't want someone to redo it on their computer, because that is just wrong....

Thanks,
Will

 

[Jorge]

Hey, a friend from work had a flood in her apartment over the weekend and nothing too bad, but she is the most upset about an approximately 50 year old portrait of her grandmother that got nasty water stains on it. I have not seen this print but she describes it as kinda thick, but kinda bendy, and black and white. (her words not mine) Question. Can I re-soak this to remove the water stains? what about re-fixing? Is there any way I can help her get this picture back?? I don't want someone to redo it on their computer, because that is just wrong....

Thanks,
Will

At this point with the present water stains, I doubt resoaking the print will do any harm. You should not need to refix, but I would recommend using photo flo in the rinse mainly to remove any dirt.

Good luck, and I agree with you, redoing in the pc is just wrong..

 

[shyguy]

personally i would scan the image first. Just as a backup. then rewash the picture in your standard temperature water. keep an eye on it, and handel it very carefully. i would air dry, then flatten under heat if necessary.

the reason for the scan is obvious. if the image falls apart you will have something to fall back on.

S.

 

[MattKing]

If it is an important photograph, see if you can find someone who does old time photo restoration. A nice 4x5 copy negative, produced by a skilled technician, using filters and specialized film (if it is still available) is probably still better than a midling scanner. One caveat though - the last time I worked with someone who was a true artist with this sort of work was at least 25 years ago!