help needed with sticky, oily negatives

[yoyo22]

I am facing a serious problem regarding lots of old negatives. Recently I decided to lend my father my film-scanner, so he could scan all those old films he still has. He used to store them in paperbags in a wooden cabinet made of oiled wood for the past 8 years or so. Now the negatives are somehow sticking to each other from the oil that evaporated during those years.
Has anyone of you ever experienced such a situation before? Does anyone have a clue how to clean the negatives in a way that does not damage them?

 

[VinceC]

Try rewashing them. Experiment on some damaged negatives that aren't critical. Just wash in moving room-termperature water as you normally would, about 20 minutes. A kitchen or bathroom sink is fine, as long is it's clean. If they don't separate by themselves, try adding a wetting agent (which is very similar to a mild dish detergent ... the soap in it can help unstick the negatives).

If the negatives are cut into short strips, you can use wooden clothespins as clips and weights while drying them again.