 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| PhotoKB HomeDiscussion Groups Digital Photography Digital PhotoDSLR CamerasZLR CamerasPoint & Shoot CamerasFilm Photography 35 mmLarge FormatMedium formatDarkroomFilm and LabsOther EquipmentPhoto Technique Nature PhotographyPeople PhotographyTechnique GeneralGeneral Photo Topics General TopicsAustralian PhotographyUK PhotographyDirectoryPhoto Clubs |
Photo Forum / Film Photography / Film and Labs / March 2004Salvaging Old Negatives
I hope this is the right newgroup for this question. I have hundreds of negatives from 1940 and older that I purchased at a local auction. Some of the loose ones are of great local historical interest. Trouble is many of the negatives are stuck together, almost like they are melted. I suspect that over the years they got wet. Is there any possible way to seperate them? Even if only the center of each negative is saved that would be more than I have now. Rosy Cold water is your friend. Soak the stacks of negatives in it (perhaps agitating them occasionally) until they separate very easily (put some Foto Flo in the water). Carefully hang them to dry. Norm Lehfeldt "Jim Rosengarten" <cncjim@adelphia.net> wrotf: >I hope this is the right newgroup for this question. I have hundreds of >negatives from 1940 and older that I purchased at a local auction. Some of [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >Rosy >I hope this is the right newgroup for this question. I have hundreds of >negatives from 1940 and older that I purchased at a local auction. Some of [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >Rosy Simple.. Take distilled water and photo-flo and soak the negs for a few minutes till they loosen. After you separate all of the negs rinse them in cold running water for 10-15 minutes and hang in a dust free room to dry. Colyn Goodson http://home.swbell.net/colyng Camera manuals and mercury battery fix http://www.colyngoodson.com << the negatives are stuck together, almost like they are melted. >> You have already gotten the standard advice about soaking the negatives in water with a little FotoFlo in it. BUT, the negatives might be on nitrate film (commonly used 1890-1950) in which case be aware that the negatives are EXTREMELY flammable, so keep them separate from your other negatives. Nitrate film may be stable for long period of time; in other cases the negatives get sticky and emit flammable fumes. When I encounter nitrate film in photo collections, I put them in a metal coffee can and keep them separated from the rest of the collection. Best regards, and good luck-- > << the negatives are stuck together, almost like they are melted. >> > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Best regards, and good luck-- Has anyone here ever separated glass plate negatives that have been stuck together?? I've been told that soaking in water may cause the gelatin to swell and separate. Derek > > << the negatives are stuck together, almost like they are melted. >> > > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > together?? I've been told that soaking in water may cause the gelatin to > swell and separate. OK, I can hear the crickets chirping... I guess nobody's in rec.photo.film+labs have ever separated glass negatives out. Not a good sign... Derek I have never had the need to seperate glass plate negatives, but I did try washing in distilled water and photoflow to clean. Mistake, the emulsion began to peel off the glass plate. The solution was to use negative cleaner and a cotton wool swab. Mike >> > << the negatives are stuck together, almost like they are melted. >> >> > [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > >Derek > I have never had the need to seperate glass plate negatives, but I did > try washing in distilled water and photoflow to clean. Mistake, the > emulsion began to peel off the glass plate. The solution was to use > negative cleaner and a cotton wool swab. Any particular brand of negative cleaner? I wonder if immersing the plates in negative cleaner would cause it to absorb into the emulsion and peel off like water did? Derek I have a bottle of Kodak Negative cleaner, probably quite old but works. My concern would be having the cleaner get between the emulsion and the glass and lift away. I wonder if increasing the humidity would work? I used steam from a kettle to remove stamps from an envelope? - Mike >> I have never had the need to seperate glass plate negatives, but I did >> try washing in distilled water and photoflow to clean. Mistake, the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Derek > I have a bottle of Kodak Negative cleaner, probably quite old but > works. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > I wonder if increasing the humidity would work? I used steam from a > kettle to remove stamps from an envelope? Plan A is to build a humidity box, to gradually bring up the humidity enough to separate the plates. My concern is that the emulsion will go with one of the plates. Plan B is to try immersing in something - water, negative cleaner, whatever... I'm told by at least one professional conservationist that they have never heard of anyone who has sucessfully separated glass negatives that have bonded to each other with nothing between them. I was hoping with all the vast knowledge in rec.photo.film+labs, that maybe someone out there had already faced this problem and solved it. Derek >>I have a bottle of Kodak Negative cleaner, probably quite old but >>works. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > vast knowledge in rec.photo.film+labs, that maybe someone out there had > already faced this problem and solved it. Is there a museum in town? Are the plates of historical value, even something like the plate is of your great great grandfather who lived in the town from 1875 until 1928. Museums love this kind of material, especially if the history is known. More then one museum has been willing to do this kind of restoration, if they can get their hands on the material. If you offer to loan the museum the plates, long term open ended loan, where you can ask for the material back at some future point, they might have better long term storage available too. Of course all you really want is a copy that you can use. So if you can get the plates separated, and scanned, your probably happy. Paul > >>I have a bottle of Kodak Negative cleaner, probably quite old but > >>works. [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > open ended loan, where you can ask for the material back at some future > point, they might have better long term storage available too. These particular plates belong to a friend of mine, and I doubt he would be interested in sending them to a museum. I've spoken to the photographic curator of a well-known local museum about these plates, and I doubt they have the funds to undertake a restoration. Right now, I'm not certain how restorable these actually are. > Of course all you really want is a copy that you can use. So if you can > get the plates separated, and scanned, your probably happy. The plates are 5x7, and I don't have any scanning equipment that can handle a plate that size. While there are scanners available that can do transparencies larger than 4x6, these plates are very thick, and many are very dense negatives, and wouldn't scan well anyway. I've been contact printing the ones that weren't stuck together quite successfully, but they sometimes need very long exposures with the lens aperture at f2.8 to print. Derek |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.