Cleaning Color films from the lab

[morback]

I felt like trying color again recently and just got back my negatives. I have never seen dirtier negatives in my life.

Besides the finger dance party that seems to have taken place on all rolls, some of the roll's edges have this whitish residue and some have white filaments strewn across all frames. They look like deep scratches but I can remove them when I rub them with a soft cloth.

What are my cleaning options at this point? Will a simple water bath do it, should I look at some alcohol based products? Bleach?

 

[MichaelW]

I haven't tried it yet, but recently came across this Kodak document where they recommend very pure (98%+) Isopropyl alcohol for film cleaning.

 

[Edward C. Zimmermann]

Since Carbon Tetrachloride is no longer available its best current replacement is PEC-12. Before using PEC-12 I'd run the film through an anti-static ionization brush (such as from Simco or Kinetronics).

If the negatives are fresh I'd wash them in a final rinse of water, isoprop and Agfa Agepon (or Triton X-100) and dry them in a drying cabinet.

 

[MartinP]

If the negs are from one of the quick-service labs remember that the last bath they will have been through contains a preservative. If you need to soak them for a while to get the cr*p off, then you might consider some sort of preservative afterwards. Does anyone have any idea what ??? Presumably the last rinse on a C41 line, not containing all the cr*p....

(maybe it is not possible to use the cr*p word in here, sorry)

 

[dmr]

I've had varying degrees of luck using filtered water, rubbing alcohol, and a commercial film cleaner on slides and negatives.

After playing with both, I've concluded that the rubbing alcohol is just as effective as the commercial film cleaner, and much cheaper.

 

[Sparrow]

I drooped a film on a dusty floor a few weeks back and went for cold water and Fairy washing-up liquid and then a rinse under a running tap.

Because of the natural curve I was able to cut them into six's and stand them on their edge on a work-top to drain. Left them overnight to dry, it worked OK but I'm on soft water here.

 

[Edward C. Zimmermann]

If the negs are from one of the quick-service labs remember that the last bath they will have been through contains a preservative.

The final rinse in a quick service mini-lab is a special kind of stabilizer. Its used in lieu of water (NP means "no plumbing"). If you re-wash freshly developed C41 negatives--- NP or not--- there is no need to use a stabilizer but you can use a standard C41 stabi (or even a weak Formalin bath) if you wish as it can't hurt. With E6 (Diapositives/Slides) the stabi is more important--- and they are all some variant protein fixative such as Formalin or Glutaraldehyde or an intermediary such as Hexamethylenetetramine (e.g. Tetenal "Formalin-free") that creates such--- and its also important to dry using heat.