Removing wax pencil from old prints?

[Dante_Stella]

I have a bunch of old original news photos (primarily architectural shots from back when newspapers could take good ones) that I would like to mat and frame.

Some of them have grease pencil crop marks. Assuming I don't decide to keep them on there just for fun (many of these actually have the as-cropped, newsprinted version taped to the back), what is a safe way (if any) to get the wax off? Usually I would use Goof-Off or naptha (lighter fluid) to take wax like that off metal, plastic, etc., but I'm more worried that this will cause wax to seep into the gelatin. These are fiber prints from the 1950s and 1960s, and I doubt that they have had any special archival treatment.

Ideas?

Thanks!
Dante

 

[mdarnton]

Mt favorite solvent these days for fragile things is odorless paint thinner. I would work very dry with a soft paper towel, rubbing as much as dissolving. Try a test spot in a corner of a print you don't care about first to get the hang of it and to see if it works. I would stay away from any solvent containing any water (ie, all alcohols), and the basic rule of solvents is never to use one that is stronger than you need (leaving acetone as the last resort for just about anything. ) There's a bunch of middle range solvents to choose from, including paint thinners, turpentine, naphtha, etc, but paint thinners are likely to be the safest.

 

[JHutchins]

I haven't tried it on grease pencil and it might do no good whatsoever but my first strategy whenever trying to remove any mark these days is tape or, if it's a photo, something like a post-it note or blue tack. Just a light touch with the adhesive repeated a large number of times can remove enough that you feel more comfortable with solvents for the remainder

 

[M.Hilo]

Not sure about the paint thinner.

Here in Europe we can buy in the pharmacy clear alcohol of 90 percent that comes in a small bottle. I use this for my fiber prints and most of the time the problem comes off.