Rewashing b/w film - advice & thoughts wanted!

Hi there,
I was having a look at some old negs of mine with a thought of reprinting and a few of them appear somewhat less than sparkly clean
They are stored in transparent neg sleeves so some may be on the sleeve but some is definately on the film.
Ok, rewashing these negs to get rid of the "stuff" - any precautions or wise wokflow to follow?
I was thinking of an initial soak, either spooled and in a tank or in a tray before a "standard" post process wash & dry. Would this work, or is dried on "stuff" dried on for evermore?

Thoughts and advice welcome.
Sim2.

hi sim2

i have had to do that
it works well in a clean tray.
( roll and sheet film ) ...

good luck !
john

Sim2 said:

They are stored in transparent neg sleeves so some may be on the sleeve but some is definately on the film.
Ok, rewashing these negs to get rid of the "stuff" - any precautions or wise wokflow to follow?

Click to expand...

I'm a drum scanner operator. I've received film in all kinds of shape, from pristine to "dragged through the mud". My experience has been that if the crud was on the film as it dried then it's permanent. That is, it's literally glued to the film. No amount of washing/cleaning is going to remove it.

If the crud on the film showed up *after* it dried, then the safest and easiest way to remove it is with a film cleaner, a good scanner wipe, and good technique. Spray down one surface to get it completely wet. Place the film dry side down on a scanner wipe on a flat surface. Wipe the film with another scanner wipe -- one smooth motion, rotating the wipe as you cross the film to lift the crud up and away from the film. Never scrub! You may have to do this more than once, but always do it the same way -- one nice smooth motion rotating the crud up and away from the film as you go.

I've never found rewashing to be as good as cleaning with a good film cleaner. Every time you get the film wet, the water swells and softens the emulsion, and makes another opportunity to glue more crud to the film as it dries. Just sayin'.

You might not have to rewash your negs. Just soak them in a working solution of Photoflo or Edwal LFN for a few minutes then wipe them dry with some Kimwipes. Hang them up to dry in a dust free environment. Handle them gently.

Debris dried into the emulsion is lost cause.

Some water marks have a good chance of being washed off.

I have cleaned film with a product called PEC-12 Emulsion cleaner. As mentioned above it was not dried into the emulsion while the film was wet more like a finger print from someone handling it after it was dry. I got it from Calumet. It also comes as wipes.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

Bruce Watson said:

I'm a drum scanner operator. I've received film in all kinds of shape, from pristine to "dragged through the mud". My experience has been that if the crud was on the film as it dried then it's permanent. That is, it's literally glued to the film. No amount of washing/cleaning is going to remove it.

I've never found rewashing to be as good as cleaning with a good film cleaner. Every time you get the film wet, the water swells and softens the emulsion, and makes another opportunity to glue more crud to the film as it dries. Just sayin'.

Click to expand...

Thanks for all the replies - good info. Until I have a good look at the negs I can't really say whether it is "dried on" muck or "storage debris". some careful peering under a loupe is called for I think. Just for laughs, err I mean experience, I might try washing a similar "don't need to keep" neg to see what happens - however I do have some Pec-12 (or at least the bottle) so have to see if there is any left!!

Failing that, look out for a posting in about a months time asking for advice on spotting prints!



Cheers guys,
Sim2.