Tape stuck on print surface

[Sjixxxy]

So I decided to enter into a local antique store today, and found a cache of some really nice old fiber prints for $2/pop. I selected my favs and took them home. While removing the first one from its baggy, the clear packaging tape used to tape it shut managed to get stuck to the surface of the print.

And advise on getting it off without removing the emultion of the print with it? I've tried slowly peeling it off, but the image seems to want to come with the tape from every direction I try.

 

[brofkand]

Perhaps soaking the prints in water or rubbing alcohol to loosen the old adhesive first?

I have no experience with fiber prints, but I myself would try that first.

 

[DWThomas]

I think a lot of tape adhesives are most readily affected by naptha (lighter fluid). I'd try it on an obscure part of a print first to see what effect it has. I believe if it's relatively pure stuff it will evaporate completely, albeit maybe not rapidly. If it were me, I would try holding the tape back and wiping a small amount from a Q-tip along the line where tape meets print, rather than really wetting the area..

Another thought would be one of the slide/negative cleaner fluids, although I'm not familiar with their contents.

DaveT

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I'd also try naphtha. It takes adhesives right off, but doesn't seem to affect things like delicate finishes, and I think it should be okay with a gelatin emulsion. Try it on a scrap print first.

 

[Konical]

Good Morning,

I agree with the posts above. Obviously, some experimentation may be very necessary. I'd make one additional point here. I have a somewhat casual interest in philately and collect both mint and used U. S. stamps. In the last few years, the USPS has issued more and more stamps which refuse to soak off paper, making it somewhat frustrating to maintain a used collection. Collectors have, of course, experimented with various chemicals and techniques to solve the problem, including the above-cited alcohol and naptha, sometimes with success, sometimes without. Some adhesives are a lot easier to deal with than others. Some stamps refuse to yield to anything; the envelope paper they're stuck on just has to be closely trimmed and the specimens collected on-paper; I hope that your efforts with the photos and tape will yield a more satisfactory result.

Konical

 

[sun of sand]

I'd probably just soak it in distilled water
probably add some photo-flo
maybe add some print flattener/glycerin
peeling the tape up using an artists brush not your sausage fingers

then go to chemicals
alcohol naptha the solvents used as film cleaners

but I don't know