 BetterPhoto Member |
How do I clean and keep clean old slides? My father's hobby was photography, I grew up with chemicals in the fridge. I have some of his slides and they are "gooey", how can I clean them and keep them clean and preserved? They are in metal holders.
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John A. Lind |
Kristine, This is really a tough one. Wish there was a simple answer, and I'm certain there are undoubtedly some treasured memories on them. The usual problem with slides is fungus from storage in dampness (basement or cellar), but that's almost always readily apparent as such. Note that fungus attacks the emulsion and does damage the image. Your "gooey" description doesn't fit the fungus symptoms though. Much depends on why they are "gooey" (environmental conditions under which they were stored). I strongly suspect something has attacked the film emulsion and softened it. Attempts to clean them without knowing exactly what the problem is could destroy them. For right now, keep them stored in a cool, dry place, away from any household chemicals and dust, and don't let any two come into contact with each other. I don't recommend dismounting them from the metal holders until how you will handle the "gooey" issue is resolved. These are very likely they are aluminum frames from old, straight slide trays commonly used during the 1950's and 1960's. I recommend also contacting a museum or university (fine arts gallery, sometimes associated with the library, or the library). Sometimes a very large central library in a major city also works with restoration of photos and other documents. If they don't have a resident expert on photograph restoration, they should know who you might call. This may involve a trail of phone calls. You may also need to take or send a sample of your problem slides to them for an analysis to determine exactly what has attacked either the film base or emulsion, how it can be restored, and what it might cost to do so. -- John
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John A. Lind |
Kristine, One additional thought. . . If you have slides that are not gooey, segregate them from the ones that are immediately (if you haven't done so already). Whatever the problem is with the gooey ones, you don't want it spreading to the others. -- John
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