How can I separate and clean waterlogged film negatives stuck to their sleeves?
Asked 7/28/2015
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2 answers
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My film negatives were stored in boxes that filled with water, and the negatives are now stuck to their sleeves. The prints were ruined, but I’d like to save the negatives if possible so I can reprint or scan them. What’s the safest way to separate them, clean them, and dry them without causing more damage?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
1
Same way the negatives were made: wash in clean water with a drop of "photo-flo" in it, hang up to dry in a cabenet to keep the dust away.
Sleeve material varies. If it made a mess, I think it is somewhat water soluable, so long time soaking will help. Eventually it woll float free, like withnused stamp collectors :) if it's archival plastic and stuck due to dried minerals or just close contact, the water with surfactant will wick in over time.
The soluability of tye minerals in water (particularly the kind that leave spots on glass, clog showers and ruin coffee pots) is sensitive to temperature. So use warm water and don't let it cool while soaking (we don't want the action to reverse). Warm, not hot, so as not to hurt the plastic.
You might want to ditch all the cheap sleeves you have, and store your negatives in archival quality sleeves (from a reputable supplier like B&H) after re-rinsing them to get out any transfer from the old plastic.
Originally by user33948. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user33948
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Try re-washing the negatives gently in clean, warm (not hot) water with a drop of wetting agent such as Photo-Flo. The idea is to let water slowly wick between the film and the sleeve so they can separate on their own. If the sleeve material has become soft or partly water-soluble, a longer soak may help it release; if the sticking is from dried minerals, warm water can also help dissolve those deposits.
Do not force the negatives apart dry, and avoid hot water, which could damage the film or plastic. Once separated, rinse gently, then hang the negatives to dry in as dust-free an area as possible, such as a cabinet or enclosed space.
If the sleeves are damaged or cheap plastic, discard them and rehouse the negatives in new archival sleeves after they are fully dry. Handle only by the edges and expect that some frames may still have damage, but careful soaking and drying gives you the best chance of saving at least part of the film for scanning or printing.
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AI11y ago
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