pencil marks on negatives

[shaggy]

I have a few 4x5's negatives of my grandpa. Somebody managed to scribble on the emulsion side with pencil. I've tried Pec-10 with no results. The negatives are from the 40's and in very good condition other then the pencil marks. Does anyone have any suggestions on trying to remove these pencil marks?

thanks
shaggy

 

[Sparky]

I have a few 4x5's negatives of my grandpa. Somebody managed to scribble on the emulsion side with pencil. I've tried Pec-10 with no results. The negatives are from the 40's and in very good condition other then the pencil marks. Does anyone have any suggestions on trying to remove these pencil marks?

thanks
shaggy

... an eraser??

 

[Charles Webb]

You might try a Eberhart-Faber kneaded rubber eraser. Most art supply store carry them. They are soft enough to not mar the emulsion. A Pink Pearl eraser used very gently might also do the job.

Charlie................................

 

[shaggy]

I thought an eraser would be a little brutal on the emulsion side. I'll pick an inconspicuous spot and give it a try.

thanks
shaggy

 

[maxby]

Is the pencilling on the negatives for selective dodging? Some photographers still do that with larger negatives.

 

[Bob F.]

As Maxby said, using a pencil to dodge negatives was a very common (almost ubiquitous in the professional field) methodology back in the day. No doubt some of our older members will have done it as a matter of course in their earlier years.

You might want to make sure they are not supposed to be there before removing them. Try printing a couple and see what you get first. If it is normal pencil then it will be mainly graphite, so may be soluble in water, but best to wait until one of the aforementioned experienced people pop up with suggestions: they have probably done it all before.

Cheers, Bob.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Yes, are you sure it's not retouching on the neg? Pencil was the standard method. It's a handy tool. I still use it.

 

[shaggy]

I'm pretty sure its not retouching. The pencil marks are squiggly and constant throughout the subject and the back ground. Like a little kid did it. I haven't had a chance to try and erase the marks yet. I'm still a little nervous about using an eraser. I let you know what happens.

thanks
shaggy

 

[Mark Fisher]

The reply about a kneaded rubber eraser is a good one. You push it down onto the surface and lift. Sort of like silly putty picking up news paper ink. Silly Putty may work too for that matter!

 

[Ole]

... If it is normal pencil then it will be mainly graphite, so may be soluble in water...

Graphite is fairly well known for not being soluble in anything.

 

[Bob F.]

Yes, sloppy use of the word "dissolve" - I meant that it may come out of the emulsion into the water - especially with a bit of gentle finger rubbing. Anyway, it doesn't: tried it earlier on a modern negative - didn't work...

Cheers, Bob.

 

[Richard T Ritter]

I still do pencil and dye work on my negatives. If I over do it I found that washing in clearing agent will undo the work.

Richard

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

do NOT use silly putty to remove the pencil marks. Silly Putty has a built-in solvent, which is why it picks up the ink off the newspaper. And why it leaves an oily-looking patch on the newspaper after you lift the image. You DON'T want that crap on your film.