BEST tools for removing dust and spots from slides and negatives

PhilBurton

Subscriber
Joined
Oct 20, 2018
Messages
467
Location
Western USA
Format
35mm
What are the BEST tools for removing dust and spots pre-scan? Which tools don't work as well? Related question, what are the best tools or or workflow to use in the latest, AI-based version of Photoshop, and maybe Lightroom, for dust and spot removal? Do you remove dust and spots early or late in the overall image edit process?

My scans so far have unacceptable levels of dust and spots. Using a Giotti "Rocket Blower" doesn't do the job.The slides have been stored (for many years now) in Kodak Yellow boxes. The color negatives in some random sleeves returned by the processing lab. B&W all home-developed years ago and stored in glassine envelopes. It's possible thjat some of these negatives got dusty during the drying process.

If it matters I am using a Nikon 5000 scanner with SF-210 batch feeder for slides. The scanner was recently cleaned and lubed professionally, and I have a dust cover for the scanner, so I'm confident that the scanner itself isn't a source of dust.

Phil Burton
 

Anon Ymous

Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
3,660
Location
Greece
Format
35mm
Some use scotch tape (the low stickiness type) to remove dust from film, the kind that a blower won't take care of. I haven't tried it, but perhaps you could, initially with a sacrificial film...
 

MattKing

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Apr 24, 2005
Messages
51,992
Location
Delta, BC Canada
Format
Medium Format
I have an old Kinetronics negative cleaner that employs camel hair brushes and a built in vacuum. It was designed for the darkroom, and travels there whenever I set it up for printing.
It is so old that when I bought it used several years ago I reached out to the successor/current Kinetronics to ask about it, and they replied that they no longer had replacement parts or any manuals for it.
It makes a small bit of difference.
 
OP
OP

PhilBurton

Subscriber
Joined
Oct 20, 2018
Messages
467
Location
Western USA
Format
35mm

Still useable? Any maintenance parts like replacement brush?
 

MattKing

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Apr 24, 2005
Messages
51,992
Location
Delta, BC Canada
Format
Medium Format
PhilBurton said:
Still useable? Any maintenance parts like replacement brush?
Click to expand...

Mine is certainly usable, although I can't really tell if it is less effective than it would have been when new.
Nothing is available from Kinetronics for the unit I have, although I expect one could create a replacement brush from other brush materials, if one had appropriate skills and tools.
 

Mark J

Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2023
Messages
438
Location
Denbigh, North Wales UK
Format
Multi Format
I have three lines of attack :
Blower
Pro Co 'Statbrush 2000' ( one can roughly guess how old that is ! ) with conductive bristles
A very clean microfibre cloth that I keep only for negs and rarely use
 

Don_ih

Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2021
Messages
7,400
Location
Ontario
Format
35mm RF
I have a Staticmaster. It apparently has an ionizing cartridge in it, making it slightly radioactive. I got it in a box of darkroom stuff, so I have no idea how old it is. It does, however, seem to work. But no brush will remove dust that got on the negative while drying.
 

George Collier

Subscriber
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
1,356
Location
Richmond, VA
Format
Multi Format
My experience with scanning old film (B&W unmounted in my case) is to clean thoroughly with PEC-12 Photographic Emulsion Cleaner using webril pads. Then wiping every surface with Ilford orange anti static wipe, including scanning mounting surfaces ( I don't use the PEC on the scanner film holders). Then, as being mounted to the scanner (Epson V850) using the rocket blower on each surface just as it's being mounted, and in that order. I think it is the best I can do, short of washing the film and drying.
But my negs are in strips, not mounted, and this method leaves little dust left. With new freshly processed film, i have no dust on most frames.
Do you need to keep the transparencies mounted? If not, I would unmount them and do what I described. Test with one first to see how it works.
 
OP
OP

PhilBurton

Subscriber
Joined
Oct 20, 2018
Messages
467
Location
Western USA
Format
35mm

I have a filmstrip holder for my Nikon scanner.
George Collier said:
But my negs are in strips, not mounted, and this method leaves little dust left. With new freshly processed film, i have no dust on most frames.
Click to expand...
I do have some film from many years ago that I have not yet processed, but the vast bulk of film was processed and put into envelopes years ago.
George Collier said:
Do you need to keep the transparencies mounted? If not, I would unmount them and do what I described. Test with one first to see how it works.
Click to expand...
I do need to keep slides mounted, because I have a 50-slide batch feeder, which is key to overall productivity.
 

George Collier

Subscriber
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
1,356
Location
Richmond, VA
Format
Multi Format
I'm guessing that leaving the frames mounted interferes with thoroughness in cleaning. Depending on how dusty (dirty) they are, and how clean the final images need to be, it might be worth unmounting, cleaning, then remounting.
 
OP
OP

PhilBurton

Subscriber
Joined
Oct 20, 2018
Messages
467
Location
Western USA
Format
35mm
George Collier said:
I'm guessing that leaving the frames mounted interferes with thoroughness in cleaning. Depending on how dusty (dirty) they are, and how clean the final images need to be, it might be worth unmounting, cleaning, then remounting.
Click to expand...

I'd rather fix the dusts and spots in Photoshop. All my slides have always been stored in their original boxes, except for some in custom design slide storage cabinets. Not all slides need to be spotless to be important.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…