How do I clean old Kodachrome slides?

wblynch · Jan 21, 2011

Hi Everyone,

I picked up a bag of old 1960's era Kodachrome slides at a garage sale and I want to know the best way to clean them.

I want to project them and also digitize them for reference indexing.

So, what is the best way to clean these?

Thanks, Bill

holmburgers · Jan 21, 2011

Are they dusty or moldy, or both?

hidesert · Jan 21, 2011

I'd like to know also. I have some that appear to have small spots of mold on them.

wblynch · Jan 21, 2011

Both dusty and moldy. More dust than mold or gunk.

tjaded · Jan 21, 2011

Whatever you use, do NOT use PEC-12 or something like it on the emulsion side! I found out the hard way.

holmburgers · Jan 21, 2011

I know that someone more qualified to answer is lurking somewhere in the shadows, but just thinking aloud about it....

I assume they're Kodak mounted in cardboard, and I don't think those are as easy to separate from the frame as say, a plastic at-home mount would be. In that case, soaking them in something probably isn't an option. I'd wet a cellulose sponge with photo-flo and see what that does. Perhaps alcohol is also an option? If they weren't mounted, or easily removed from their mounting, maybe a soak in something would do the trick, but that might be difficult.

Before going at it with a sponge though, maybe try to remove as much as possible with canned air, to avoid moving any gunk around with the sponge and possibly scratching the emulsion. Like an archaeologist, slow and steady would be the way.

Also, there's a Yahoo! group for Photo Conservation and I'd bet they could give some great advice.

Ian C · Jan 21, 2011

A small amount of naphtha applied gently with a Q-tip is safe for cleaning films and prints. Ive used it regularly for this purpose since 1985.

Its most conveniently packaged as Ronsonol Lighter Fuel. It is, of course, very flammable. But youre using a tiny amount and provided you use reasonable precautionsno flames or smokingthen it is safe. The key is to rub VERY GENTLLY so as not to scar the film.

Naphtha wont harm film or the mounts, whether plastic or cardboard, and it evaporates very quickly.

wblynch · Jan 21, 2011

Thanks Ian !

Neanderman · Jan 21, 2011

You can also get naptha by the quart at most hardware stores. It is packaged a "VM&P Naptha", which means 'varnish makers and painters naptha'. Lighter fluid might have some other additives that might be bad for film.

Ed

Bob-D659 · Jan 21, 2011

Well if it does, it has to be a really new formulation, as I used it 40 years ago and still use it today without any harmful or long term effects.

Odds are the painters mix has a much better chance of containing unwanted impurities.

Dirb9 · Jan 22, 2011

tjaded said:
Whatever you use, do NOT use PEC-12 or something like it on the emulsion side! I found out the hard way.

FWIW, I didn't have a problem with PEC-12 on Kodachrome from the late 50s-early 60s, it took the mold right off and nothing else. But I have heard things about it dissolving the lacquer.

jacarape · Jan 22, 2011

Ian, thank you for the tip. Now I know what to do with my Zippo leftovers after I quit.

How do I clean old Kodachrome slides?

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