Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning negatives?

Usagi · Sep 4, 2008

Hi,

Is isopropyl alcohol safe for cleaning negatives?
I need something that helps me to clean finger marks from some negatives. One tip that I had given was use of isopropyl alcohol. But how is the safety?

I don't want to ruin these negatives.

Philippe-Georges · Sep 4, 2008

Yes, it is very good, and at present times, it is the easiest product to be found on the market.
But be aware, there is a very little amount of water in it, about 1 to 2 %.
After a wile, the alcohol evaporates and the percentage will change in favour of the water.
Do NOT drink it...

Good luck,

Philippe

Kevin Kehler · Sep 4, 2008

You need to ensure you buy the 99% pure isopropyl as opposed the more common 70%. The 70% tends to leave smears on the negatives and because it takes longer to dry, is more prone to attract dust as opposed to the 90%. I buy harder (i.e. cheaper) Q-Tips, dip in a capful of alcohol and then rub gently to remove fingerprints, loose dust and waterspots. Most drugstores have the 99% whereas the 70% can be bought at Wal-Mart, grocery stores, convenience stores, etc. The good part is the price, I think I paid under $5 for a 700ml bottle.

Usagi · Sep 4, 2008

Thank you very much!

synj00 · Sep 4, 2008

I can vouch for the alcohol and qtip cleaning idea. Done it just the other day. No ill affects for me but test first on a negative you dont care about of course

Nicholas Lindan · Sep 4, 2008

Usagi said:
Is isopropyl alcohol safe for cleaning negatives?

I have had the best results with a product called "PEC-12" - made for cleaning negatives. It is a pretty high-powered solvent, but it does not penetrate and soften the gelatin and fingerprints almost 'float' off so no rubbing is required. They also make a completely non-abrasive "PEC-wipe".

I have scratched negatives with Q-Tips and alcohol - I cleaned for too long with too much pressure. You find out how much is 'too long and too hard' only 'too late'.

ben-s · Sep 4, 2008

I usually use a clean microfibre cloth and high purity IPA.

BTW, you can really speed up neg drying time by using a bath of 50/50 water and IPA for a couple of minutes. I believe it is an old newspaper shooter's trick. It's apparently not recommended for general use, but on the films I've used it on, I've had no ill effects.

ic-racer · Sep 4, 2008

Kevin Kehler said:
You need to ensure you buy the 99% pure isopropyl as opposed the more common 70%. The 70% tends to leave smears on the negatives and because it takes longer to dry, is more prone to attract dust as opposed to the 90%. I buy harder (i.e. cheaper) Q-Tips, dip in a capful of alcohol and then rub gently to remove fingerprints, loose dust and waterspots. Most drugstores have the 99% whereas the 70% can be bought at Wal-Mart, grocery stores, convenience stores, etc. The good part is the price, I think I paid under $5 for a 700ml bottle.

I have found a residue with even the 90% isopropyl alcohol (may be brand dependent). The Kodak film cleaner does not leave a residue for me.

raucousimages · Sep 4, 2008

Some brands of isopropyl alcohol have oils and other addatives to make them undrinkable. The best bet is 95% ethyl alcohol, Everclear.

Kevin Kehler · Sep 4, 2008

ic-racer said:
I have found a residue with even the 90% isopropyl alcohol (may be brand dependent). The Kodak film cleaner does not leave a residue for me.

None of my local camera shops carry the Kodak, for which I have heard nothing but good results. I use the 99% isopropyl alcohol because it's available and I haven't had a problem with reside although some dusty waterspots are more resilient than I am willing to scrub.

Steve Roberts · Sep 5, 2008

ben-s said:
BTW, you can really speed up neg drying time by using a bath of 50/50 water and IPA for a couple of minutes. I believe it is an old newspaper shooter's trick. It's apparently not recommended for general use, but on the films I've used it on, I've had no ill effects.

I used it a couple of times many years ago with no problems. The only down-side I ever heard was that it could leave the film rather brittle (I don't know whether that referred to the base, emulsion or possibly both). The work-around for this was to print what was needed quickly, then re-wash the film in water and dry as per normal.

Steve

ic-racer · Sep 5, 2008

Kevin Kehler said:
None of my local camera shops carry the I use the 99% isopropyl alcohol because it's available and I haven't had a problem with reside although some dusty waterspots are more resilient than I am willing to scrub.

99%, you got the good stuff!

Paul Verizzo · Sep 5, 2008

leicam5 said:
Yes, it is very good, and at present times, it is the easiest product to be found on the market.
But be aware, there is a very little amount of water in it, about 1 to 2 %.
After a wile, the alcohol evaporates and the percentage will change in favour of the water.
Do NOT drink it...

Good luck,

Philippe

The usual drugstore rubbing alcohol is 30% water, if that is what you are referring to.

Philippe-Georges · Sep 6, 2008

Paul Verizzo said:
The usual drugstore rubbing alcohol is 30% water, if that is what you are referring to.

Certainly not! I spoke about 1 % water, so it is the 99% stuff, the more water there is in, the more trouble one might have.
The one I was referring to, in particular, is : Isopropanol 99+%(GC) C3 H8 O / CAS : 67-63-0 / EC : 200-661-7 from SIGMA-ALDRICH CHEMIE GmbH.
This is the stuff I also use to mix the 1% Phenidone stock dilution.

I used to clean negatives with C Cl4 (= Tetra Chloor Koolstof, I do not know the name in English), but this one is prohibited now due to causing health problems (cancer).

Philippe

patrickjames · Sep 6, 2008

I recently started using IPA instead of LFN as a final rinse for black and white film. After I hang the film up I wipe off the excess off the non-emulsion side of the film with a Kimwipe. The film dries really fast and I can't see any ill effects.

Paul Verizzo · Sep 6, 2008

leicam5 said:
Certainly not! I spoke about 1 % water, so it is the 99% stuff, the more water there is in, the more trouble one might have.
The one I was referring to, in particular, is : Isopropanol 99+%(GC) C3 H8 O / CAS : 67-63-0 / EC : 200-661-7 from SIGMA-ALDRICH CHEMIE GmbH.
This is the stuff I also use to mix the 1% Phenidone stock dilution.

I used to clean negatives with C Cl4 (= Tetra Chloor Koolstof, I do not know the name in English), but this one is prohibited now due to causing health problems (cancer).

Philippe

Certainly is! Please reread my post. When most non-chemists think of isopropanol alcohol, they think of drugstore rubbing alcohol. And that is, indeed, only 70%.

Not everyone has a S-A down the street.

Philippe-Georges · Sep 6, 2008

Paul Verizzo said:
Certainly is! Please reread my post. When most non-chemists think of isopropanol alcohol, they think of drugstore rubbing alcohol. And that is, indeed, only 70%.

Not everyone has a S-A down the street.

Dear Paul,

Do forgive me if I have offended you! I must have misinterpreted the teneur your post, please do apologise my lack of true knowledge of your language.
I am not a chemist and S-A is not down my street, it is somewhere at an other end of the internet, just one of the advantages of the net.
But, if S-A is out of reach, perhaps an pharmacist might help, but I do not know how these things are functioning in the US.

Philippe

Paul Verizzo · Sep 6, 2008

leicam5 said:
Dear Paul,

Do forgive me if I have offended you! I must have misinterpreted the teneur your post, please do apologise my lack of true knowledge of your language.
I am not a chemist and S-A is not down my street, it is somewhere at an other end of the internet, just one of the advantages of the net.
But, if S-A is out of reach, perhaps an pharmacist might help, but I do not know how these things are functioning in the US.

Philippe

No offense ever taken, no apologies needed. But thanks. And I didn't see where you are, in regards language. Your English is perfect.

Maybe the generic 70% iso alcohol is not common in France. It is here.

Cheers!

Hey, isn't it kind of late there?

john_s · Sep 6, 2008

leicam5 said:
........I used to clean negatives with C Cl4 (= Tetra Chloor Koolstof, I do not know the name in English), but this one is prohibited now due to causing health problems (cancer).

Philippe

Carbon tetrachloride used to be in every house here (Australia), for spot removal on clothing. It was back in the 1950s and 1960s.

Also gone is "trike" which was, I think, trichlorethane, the solvent of choice for cleaning greasy machinery and bike parts in particular.

Fireguy2002 · Nov 1, 2009

Paul Verizzo said:
Certainly is! Please reread my post. When most non-chemists think of isopropanol alcohol, they think of drugstore rubbing alcohol. And that is, indeed, only 70%.

Not everyone has a S-A down the street.

I'm late on the issue, but since we're talking science, isn't isopropanol alcohol kinda redundant?

alexmacphee · Nov 1, 2009

I also use PEC pads with PEC fluid. It's not cheap, but then again, neither are your precious negatives or slides.

I was never able to get neat isopropyl alcohol (which is a sound recommendation) from the pharmacy, and my stock of the stuff from my days in a medical research laboratory, long past, is also long gone. I was put on to PEC fluid by another photographer, and it's too good for me ever to consider reverting to isoprop.

AgX · Nov 1, 2009

Any ideas anyone for formulating a solvent as alternative to pure Isopropanol?

polyglot · Nov 1, 2009

At least in Australia, the easiest source of relatively pure isopropanol is electronic stores. I buy it in 1L steel cans for about $10-15 and use that to refill my pump-spray thingo. It's 97% or 99%, depending on where you buy it and how lucky you get.

PEC fluid is methanol, right? I believe you can buy that as model engine fuel in a really quite pure form, if you're willing to buy a few litres.

Fireguy2002 · Nov 1, 2009

The MSDS for PEC-12 lists Methanol and N-Butyl Acetate. Doesn't say the proportions, but N-butyl acetate is just a solvent as well. I wouldn't imagine leaving that portion out would make that much difference.

Nicholas Lindan · Nov 1, 2009

polyglot said:
PEC fluid is methanol, right?

Mixture of 99 Methanol and N-Butyl Acetate. Solvent combinations often work much better than either of the ingredients alone. Considering the price of the ingredients the stuff is hideously overpriced.

However, it works extremely well and seems to contain no water at all.

Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning negatives?

Usagi

Philippe-Georges

Kevin Kehler

Usagi

synj00

Nicholas Lindan

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ben-s

ic-racer

raucousimages

Kevin Kehler

Steve Roberts

ic-racer

Paul Verizzo

Philippe-Georges

patrickjames

Paul Verizzo

Philippe-Georges

Paul Verizzo

john_s

Fireguy2002

alexmacphee

AgX

polyglot

Fireguy2002

Nicholas Lindan

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Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning negatives?

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