Spilled Beer.....

charlie c · Apr 20, 2013

Surely I can't be the first to have spilled some beer onto slide film....
I blame it on the silly white gloves, slippery little devils

What might you suggest the best way to go about cleaning Provia 100F of a Belgian white ale stain?

Thank you

markbarendt · Apr 20, 2013

Clean water.

charlie c · Apr 20, 2013

So its that simple?

I cleaned one with warm water last night and then it curled up into a tight little ball, but this morning it seems to have straightened itself out some.

Thanks for getting back to me, Mark.

markbarendt · Apr 20, 2013

I would actually say use one clothes pin to hold it to hold up somewhere and another to weight it at the other end.

summicron1 · Apr 20, 2013

charlie c said:
So its that simple?

I cleaned one with warm water last night and then it curled up into a tight little ball, but this morning it seems to have straightened itself out some.

Thanks for getting back to me, Mark.

my sister works as a chemist at the Getty Conservation Institute, where they clean off artwork worth millions of dollars.

Usually, water is what they use. Except for the watercolors, of course.

Dan Henderson · Apr 20, 2013

markbarendt said:
Clean water.

Seems like a waste of beer to me. I recommend soaking the film in your mouth first to, uh, recover the spilled beer. As a side benefit I heard just last week that the enzymes in our saliva break down stains. Then rinse in clean water.

cliveh · Apr 20, 2013

But the moral of this story is stop wearing gloves (you are not handling the Ark of the Covenant) and never put any liquids on the same surface as your negs/slides.

LJSLATER · Apr 20, 2013

It's no use crying over spilt beer.

Good thing it was a Belgian pale rather than a chocolate stout.

msage · Apr 20, 2013

Water (distilled is best), then E-6 Final Rinse. Dry in a dust free area.

charlie c · Apr 21, 2013

Thanks for your input everyone.

cliveh said:
But the moral of this story is stop wearing gloves (you are not handling the Ark of the Covenant) and never put any liquids on the same surface as your negs/slides.

Is there a better way to keep fingerprints off slides when mounting them?

heterolysis · Apr 21, 2013

Solution: Beer hat.

LJSLATER · Apr 21, 2013

charlie c said:
Thanks for your input everyone.

Is there a better way to keep fingerprints off slides when mounting them?

Nitrile? If you know a medical professional, ask him/her to snag you a pair or three to try.

cliveh · Apr 21, 2013

charlie c said:
Thanks for your input everyone.

Is there a better way to keep fingerprints off slides when mounting them?

Hold them by the edges and not the image area.

ChrisK · Apr 21, 2013

Use a straw.

Richard S. (rich815) · Apr 21, 2013

ChrisK said:
Use a straw.

...finish with tongue.

flatulent1 · Apr 21, 2013

You spilled beer? Oh, the humanity...

Nitrile gloves are available at your local pharmacy. But I wouldn't be handling food or drink while also handling negs or slides. Regardless of what protection you're wearing, it isn't going to keep condensate from the beer bottle from marking your negs/slides.

JBrunner · Apr 21, 2013

LJSLATER said:
Nitrile? If you know a medical professional, ask him/her to snag you a pair or three to try.

Beware. Nitrile gloves are often treated with talc to keep them from sticking together. If you live in a dry climate like I do, once talc is loose in your darkroom, it can be a nightmare.

I found I could buy no talc gloves at a medical supply store, though.

heterolysis · Apr 22, 2013

JBrunner has a good point. Make sure you track down the "powder-free" gloves, whether latex or nitrile. You should be able to find them at a drug store, or sometimes colleges with medical programs sell them for students.

I generally prefer latex gloves (I wear them every day at work) over nitrile because I find nitrile can be a little too slippery with wet glassware. I also feel latex provides a little more elasticity for delicate tasks, but that could just be me.

Some gloves have a salt residue on them from manufacture. Wash them once on and dry them with a dust-free cloth if you're really worried about it. I've never found this to be a problem in the darkroom, but when I was working on toners for Xerox it was a known problem---latexes interfering with latexes.

Good luck!

Spilled Beer.....

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