Dusting 10x10 Glass Carrier and 8x10 Negatives
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I think you would regret it. Bristles are far too coarse. I have used only compressed air for 30 years. Kodak used to supply a good brush in a couple of sizes. IIRC 1" and 2". AFAIK they were made from squirrel hair. Try an art store and get a soft wide brush.
That's going to scratch the heck out of your negatives. I don't even use my kinetronic's brush anymore. I just use the compressed air approach mentioned above for my 8x10 neg's. If the glass in the carrier needs more cleaning than that, I use a good glass cleaner and wear latex surgical gloves when handling the glass.
IC:
Go to your favoerite paint and hardware store and buy a soft natural bristle (not boar) brush of 2 to 4 inches. That should work.
Go to your favoerite paint and hardware store and buy a soft natural bristle (not boar) brush of 2 to 4 inches. That should work.
I use Windex.
I already have a 2" antistatic brush. But the repeated swipes required for the 10x10 glass allow dust to re-settle on the glass creating a never ending sequence of events
I'd like to know more about those that are using compressed air. I have the cans but they are a whimpy for a big area of glass. My shop air compressor for air tools blows moisture and is quite loud. I'd have to put the compressor in another room and pipe the air in after going through a dryer and filter. Is that what you guys are doing?
http://www.dickblick.com/products/da-vinci-pure-badger-softener-bright/
The finest brush, I have two, no scratches and no residue, I keep them in their own dust free boxes.
The finest brush, I have two, no scratches and no residue, I keep them in their own dust free boxes.
For $6 I think I'll try that (scroll down to "14" framing brush") http://www.grignonsart.com/picture_framing_supplies/Finishing_Tools.htm
I went down to the local artist's store and bought a 2-inch short bristle badger brush. It's a very fine and soft bristle, and I've never scratched a negative.
That framing brush will do the same job of scratching that the other one would. Guaranteed.
I used to buy an aerosol antistatic spray from a graphic arts supplier. Very little on a piece of cotton cloth will help to keep dust at bay without leaving a residue.
I used to buy an aerosol antistatic spray from a graphic arts supplier. Very little on a piece of cotton cloth will help to keep dust at bay without leaving a residue.
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Scratching the glass?
That too in time. As well as using compressed air, I used only glass cleaner on lint free industrial wipes on the glass. You want a soft fine hair brush if you are going that route for both film and glass. Nothing else except glass cleaner.
From the experience of hundreds of thousands of enlargements.
From the experience of hundreds of thousands of enlargements.
There is no way any of those is going to scratch glass. A negative maybe. Glass, definitely not. ICR I've had good luck with the cotton pads that FS sells. While they leave their own small amount of lint - the difference is this lint blows off very easily because it's more substantial in weight/size than simple dust particles. I clean the carriers at the beginning of every darkroom session or so - not every time I change negatives. I clean negatives before I put them in the carrier - but for that I use an expensive Kinetronics KSE device.
These: http://www.freestylephoto.biz/232341-Webril-Wipes-4-x-4-100
These: http://www.freestylephoto.biz/232341-Webril-Wipes-4-x-4-100
Windex works fine. No need to get too fancy. I take the glass out of my 10x10 carrier to clean it. That's why I use gloves when handling to keep the finger prints off.
I have several air compressors but I just use canned air in the darkroom. I have a large 10x10 Durst horizontal enlarger with a big negative carrier. The canned air works fine. You don't need to blow the dust into the next county. Just enough to get it off the glass.
I do use my Kinetronics brush on the glass from time to time but not on my negatives anymore. I've noticed very fine scratches on some of my negs from it. Keep the negative clean and in sleeves and compressed air should be all you need.
Follow up on this thread. I wound up getting the Kinetronics SW-281 11" in vinyl pouch w/grounding cord
http://www.kinetronics.com/store/wisk1.html
http://www.kinetronics.com/store/wisk1.html
Hi,
I would definitely get a moisture trap for your compressor, just on GP.
As for noise, you can fill the tank ahead of time while you wait in a more quite area, and then turn off the automatic switch once it is full. You probably won't need more compressed air than is in a household-sized tank to clean the carrier any one time.
Filling up the tank to more pressure than is needed, and using a regulator to control (decrease) the pressure that you will use to clean the carrier would be a good thing to do. You will then be working at a constant pressure (at least up to the point at which tank pressure falls below your regulator's setting), as opposed to working with constantly decreasing pressure. And that way you also won't be using excessive pressure, which can make more of a mess in your darkroom than the one you intended to clean up in the first place.
Also, be sure to open the drain valve at the end of the session. Water will accumulate in the tank and rust if you do not. That means shorter tank life, and potentially more water in the hose.
...and even more importantly, don't forget to close the drain valve once the tank is emptied of fluid. If you don't close it, and you leave it on automatic, your compressor will run continuously to try to maintain pressure as the air leaks out, which will destroy it.
And there is also ear protection. Always a good idea anyhow when working around compressors.
I have a small compressor with a regulator and water trap. Instead of running a line from it to whatever I am working on each time, I have lines wired up through the garage and darkroom permanently, with a few attachment points. One is in the darkroom, and two in the garage. (The garage and darkroom are adjacent to each other on a semi-subterranean level of the house.)
I would definitely get a moisture trap for your compressor, just on GP.
As for noise, you can fill the tank ahead of time while you wait in a more quite area, and then turn off the automatic switch once it is full. You probably won't need more compressed air than is in a household-sized tank to clean the carrier any one time.
Filling up the tank to more pressure than is needed, and using a regulator to control (decrease) the pressure that you will use to clean the carrier would be a good thing to do. You will then be working at a constant pressure (at least up to the point at which tank pressure falls below your regulator's setting), as opposed to working with constantly decreasing pressure. And that way you also won't be using excessive pressure, which can make more of a mess in your darkroom than the one you intended to clean up in the first place.
Also, be sure to open the drain valve at the end of the session. Water will accumulate in the tank and rust if you do not. That means shorter tank life, and potentially more water in the hose.
...and even more importantly, don't forget to close the drain valve once the tank is emptied of fluid. If you don't close it, and you leave it on automatic, your compressor will run continuously to try to maintain pressure as the air leaks out, which will destroy it.
And there is also ear protection. Always a good idea anyhow when working around compressors.
I have a small compressor with a regulator and water trap. Instead of running a line from it to whatever I am working on each time, I have lines wired up through the garage and darkroom permanently, with a few attachment points. One is in the darkroom, and two in the garage. (The garage and darkroom are adjacent to each other on a semi-subterranean level of the house.)
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I use canned air.
I will hold the negative at on edge and press air under the other edge.
This makes the negative flop like a bass on dock after it is landed
this action dislodges any dust quickly.
I do not use brushes.
This works well with 8x10 negs, you have to be a bit more careful with mf film as it is thinner.
I will hold the negative at on edge and press air under the other edge.
This makes the negative flop like a bass on dock after it is landed
this action dislodges any dust quickly.
I do not use brushes.
This works well with 8x10 negs, you have to be a bit more careful with mf film as it is thinner.
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