Cleaning Color Negs.

Deanosc · Apr 14, 2012

Hi guys, I am new here. I was just looking for a little bit of help. A few years ago I sent home a bunch of c41 processed color negative film. Some of the packages I sent home got wet and some of the film has blemishes that show up on the scanner. Now I can partly remove this by gently rubbing with a chamois. I only tried this on a few frames that I was not really interested in just incase it ruined it. I thought there must be an easier way so I purchased some Kodak Professional photo-flo 200 solution and mixed it with the suggested 200 to 1 ratio. I placed a few strips in there for a few seconds, removed them and wiped them off with a chamois. This seems to have removed the residue, however it also seems to have removed a lot of the pigment from the film as well. I have not scanned these yet but I was jut wondering if anyone had any suggestions or ways that they clean their negs before scanning if they are dirty??

Thank you.

Dane.

Athiril · Apr 14, 2012

I probably would not be scrubbing my film with a chamois. Soak it for a while in the solution, agitate now and then, then hang it up to dry.

Photocrack · Apr 14, 2012

You should re-do the stabilizer step. This stuff is containing a wetting agent and Formaline 0,5%-1%. The Formaline protects against bacteria and is stabilizing the non-used color couplers in the film. But Formaline is a bit crappy in use.

Terry Christian · Apr 14, 2012

Which side of the film are you scrubbing - which side are the blemishes on? If they're on the emulsion (dull) side, then Athiril is right - you shouldn't be scrubbing it. If you're scrubbing the shiny, protective side, you still need to be gentle but you probably won't hurt the film, and definitely won't remove any of the dyes.

Deanosc · Apr 14, 2012

I was not scrubbing as much as rubbing gently. I just kind of did what I read up to do on the internet, the chamois was one of the things suggested. It varies as to what side the blemishes are on. It just seems to be luck of the draw.
I will re do the stabilizer step and then soak, agitate and hang up to dry. Thanks guys.
Thanks for letting me know I can not remove and of the dyes as well. I was a bit worried about that but was not sure if it was possible or not.

Vonder · Apr 14, 2012

I recently came across some old negatives that I wanted to clean and preserve. They weren't mistreated per se, but they were dirty and had stains. I first tried Edwalls Negative Cleaner which helped only a little. I then put them in a lukewarm water solution with Dawn dish soap and left them soak a couple hours. I used my fingertips to gently rub the negatives in the bath. When they were done I rinsed them with PhotoFlo and hung them to dry. I printed one of the negs (after a wipedown with Edwalls) and they were fine, no stains, and the color balance was good.

MattKing · Apr 15, 2012

Deanosc said:
I was not scrubbing as much as rubbing gently. I just kind of did what I read up to do on the internet, the chamois was one of the things suggested. It varies as to what side the blemishes are on. It just seems to be luck of the draw.
I will re do the stabilizer step and then soak, agitate and hang up to dry. Thanks guys.
Thanks for letting me know I can not remove and of the dyes as well. I was a bit worried about that but was not sure if it was possible or not.

The stabilizer must be the final step - you shouldn't wash it off, as it is intended to remain on the dry negatves.

Deanosc · Apr 15, 2012

Ok so would the stabilizer staying on the film possibly be the reason its making it much harder to tell what side the emulsion side is?

Also there is a red pigmentation to my solution after doing 3 rolls of negs.. Is this normal? It is obviously coming off the negatives, I am just not sure if I should be worried about it??

Athiril · Apr 17, 2012

Deanosc said:
Ok so would the stabilizer staying on the film possibly be the reason its making it much harder to tell what side the emulsion side is?

Also there is a red pigmentation to my solution after doing 3 rolls of negs.. Is this normal? It is obviously coming off the negatives, I am just not sure if I should be worried about it??

Yes. If this is your wash water, then you're not done washing.

hrst · Apr 17, 2012

Deanosc said:
Ok so would the stabilizer staying on the film possibly be the reason its making it much harder to tell what side the emulsion side is?

No. You cannot see it. The only way stabilizer staying on the film is visible to the eye is the fact that you still can see your images unfaded after years.

Also there is a red pigmentation to my solution after doing 3 rolls of negs.. Is this normal? It is obviously coming off the negatives, I am just not sure if I should be worried about it??

It is perfectly normal. It is some excess non image forming dye from the film. If the films were washed sufficiently when processed, you don't have to worry about small amount of dye. If it is strong in color, you may need to wash more.

Cleaning Color Negs.

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