Scratches (sort of) on 5x7 neg

I have a 5x7 negative, which is a shot I really like - but when I print it (12x16) there appears to be scratch going accross the middle about 5 inches long - however when viewing the emulsion in the light it looks more like a "rubbing" mark or something rather than a full on scratch. Film is FP4.

Question is: is there any way of sorting this out or sorting out the black line on the prints?

Many thanks
Matt

Maybe possible to retouch the print (dare I suggest d****ally ).

Or try rewashing and drying the neg, if this might smooth out the emulsion.

Or maybe negative varnish, to fill in any un-evenness or abrasion of the emulsion service.

And, obviously, make the best print you can, as a back-up, before you "fiddle-around" with the neg (been caught out that way myself when over-doing negative reducer! :rolleyes: )

Tetenal did a scratch repair product but I can no longer see it listed on their website.

Railwayman's suggestion of rewashing sometimes helps particularly if the scratch is quite fine. Another method I use to lessen, even completly hide a scratch is to rub a bit of good old facial grease using a cotton glove into the abrasion. You'll be surprised how good this is at covering up odd marks on the negative.

Good luck.

Trevor.

Thanks very much for that.

I'll have a look at tetenal - I know from dabbling in motion picture that there are some amazing products for prints which seem to work wonders with old scratched prints (for projection).

Interesting thing about the fascial grease....

The scratches are difficult to see on the negative - the problem is that the image consists mainly of continuous tone sky and beach - so any mark stands out like a sore thumb.

Matt

I was always told it was nose oil

Rub your finger against the side of your nose and then rub it ito the base side of the neg

Never tried it but was assured it worked a treat

Martin