Cleaning dirty dark slides

marktweedie · Apr 9, 2006

I've just been given a box of 4x5 Fidelity Elites dark slides which have spent several months in a friend's garage. They are liberally covered in cobwebs, dust grit and other nasty foreign objects. I was going to give them a squirt with a water jet, let them dry out and then fire canned air in the nooks and crannies to get them into a usable state. Is this a reasonable way to clean them? I was a bit concerned that metal parts or the hinges on the drop-out flap where the film is loaded might be adversely affected. Any ideas/suggestions welcome.

rbarker · Apr 9, 2006

Soap and water can work, but there's a risk of glue in various spots failing. I'd vacuum them first, pull the dark slides to vacuum the light trap, and then clean the dark slides with "orange" cleaner, most brands of which also act as an anti-static agent.

raucousimages · Apr 9, 2006

Dishwasher? You don't realy need them flat do you?

Ian Grant · Apr 9, 2006

Before you do anything a careful brush with a soft cloth or brush taking the rubbish away from the edges and particularly the end that the darkslides are removed from.

Then remove the darkslides, after use air to clean the light trap and then the rest of the holder.

Try not to get water near them

Ian

sergio caetano · Apr 9, 2006

rbarker
What do you mean with "orange" cleaner ?

Dave Parker · Apr 9, 2006

sergio caetano said:
rbarker
What do you mean with "orange" cleaner ?

Hi Sergio,

Long time no talk!

Orange cleaner is a cleaner that is marketed here in the US that uses the citrus juices of oranges as the grease and dirt cutting base, it is a very good cleaner..

Dave

John Kasaian · Apr 9, 2006

Pull the dark slides out, open the flaps and vacume the heck out of them. Use the micro attachments on a shop vac or something similar. Shoot them with compressed air at a gas station, bring them home an vacume them again Wipe them down with a clearer or better yet, glass wax them clean. If they are the Graflex kind with the traps that can be unscrewed, open up he traps and vacume the velvets. Unless you know the slides themselves are made from aluminium or similar, avoid using water. Some dark slides are adversely affested by water.

donbga · Apr 9, 2006

John Kasaian said:
Shoot them with compressed air at a gas station,.

Don't use gas station compressed air as it is likely to have oil and/or water in the hose lines.

Just use a compressed air cannister made for cleaning computers or cameras.
It will be "dry".

Cleaning dirty dark slides

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