Cleaning Film?

[Phillip Wood]

what are the best tools for cleaning Super 8 Film?

 

some say Lint free Cotton Cloth others say Chamois Leather...should it be dry or damp?

 

and should you ever use any kind of liquid on the films..? i have heard of lubricating the films.

 

cheers

[Richard Tuohy]

what are the best tools for cleaning Super 8 Film?

 

some say Lint free Cotton Cloth others say Chamois Leather...should it be dry or damp?

 

and should you ever use any kind of liquid on the films..? i have heard of lubricating the films.

 

cheers

 

Use a piece of velvet. Use a cleaner like edwals available from Urbanski.com

[Bengt Freden]

Hi Philip,

 

Although the dedicated film cleaners probably are the best to use (some even include lubrication, for smooth transport through the projector gate), I occasionally use the kind of led-free chemical 'gasoline' (white spirit?) that I can buy from the pharmacy in little glass bottles. I put just a few drops on a very clean twice-folded piece of thick black velvet and the very slowly wind the film through from one rewind to another. I stop now and then, to remove the dust and dirt (away from the cleaning area) and start again, using a new spot on the piece of velvet with a new drop or two of the gasoline. The gasoline vaporizes very quickly and the film is fairly 'dry' as it is being wound up on the film wheel. The wheels are about four feet apart.

I find this also somewhat reduces the static electricity, that is if I wind very slowly. It is, of course, extremely important that you work in a dust-free environment, something as close as you can get to a bathroom (without the towels or bath robes, though).

 

This is my simple way of getting rid of the dust without scratching the film emulsion. I bet there are hundreds of different ways. Experiment and try what works for you.

 

Good luck!

Bengt in Stockholm ;)

[Francis Kuhn]

Phillip:

 

Contact Christy's Editorial

 

Address: 3625 West Pacific Ave., Burbank, CA 91505

Phone: 818.845.1755

Fax: 818.845.1756

Toll Free: 800.556.5706

E-Mail: info@christys.net

 

They sell a specialized liquid film cleaner called Ecco 2000 and some 100-percent cotton wipes called Webril Wipes designed to clean film without damaging it. I have cleaned about 5000 feet of old 16mm film with this combination. Works great.

 

-Fran

[Phillip Wood]

thanks for the tips. i have found a couple of places stocking edwals, ecco...urbanski seems to only stock filmrenew.