35mm Slide Restoration

[tigger4t]

A batch of several hundred family 35mm slides/transparencies have been passed to me to digitise. The problem is that they have been stored in a damp location for many years and the film has bowed and adhered to the awful plastic slide pocket sheets that we used back in the 70s. While they come out relatively easily an oval adhesion mark is left on the film. Does anyone have any suggestions for cleaning the slides please. Some are stuck to the shiny side and some to the matt side.

 

[Len Shepherd]

Something like this might help though I have never used it https://www.speedgraphic.co.uk/lens...nti_static_tiger_cloth_133x146mm/29628_p.html

Assuming 600 slides and 10 minutes a slide to clean, copy, post process and title (including date processed if on the mount) is about 100 hours work.

If you have access to a light box I would initially leave the slides in the sleeves and use a marker pen on the sleeve to identify the better ones.

EDIT Nikon used to make a device for the LS 5000 scanner to automate batch processing about 50 slides.
In the UK the scanner is over £1,000 second hand, the batch processor even more, and current software to work an LS 5000 is over £100.

 

[tigger4t]

Something like this might help though I have never used it https://www.speedgraphic.co.uk/lens...nti_static_tiger_cloth_133x146mm/29628_p.html

Assuming 600 slides and 10 minutes a slide to clean, copy, post process and title (including date processed if on the mount) is about 100 hours work.

If you have access to a light box I would initially leave the slides in the sleeves and use a marker pen on the sleeve to identify the better ones.

EDIT Nikon used to make a device for the LS 5000 scanner to automate batch processing about 50 slides.
In the UK the scanner is over £1,000 second hand, the batch processor even more, and current software to work an LS 5000 is over £100.

Thanks - my scanner and my process isn't the problem though it's just the slide damage. I'll take a look at the link

 

[Robert S]

Hello Simon,
I digitised old photos about 25 years ago, then digitised the family transparencies about 7 years ago. I didn't have your specific problem but some of the photos were torn, bit missing etc.
Once digitised I used software to 'rebuild' the photos. At the time I was into family history. My mother's father had visited an uncle of his in the USA in about 1907. In one of the 'family history' chatrooms I got in touch with people from that part of the family. One woman had never seen a photograph of her gt. uncles till I sent her copies.
A lot of the photographs are of long forgotten people.

Visit to USA 1907

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My grandfather is far right, his uncle is standing in the middle.

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I think this is the uncle as a young man.

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Reverse of previous photo.

Amazing what is possible with modern tech.

 

[Warren D]

Kodak film cleaner worked well but I don't think it's available anymore. I wouldn't use anything on the matte (emulsion) side as that is the image and any damage is mostly non-recoverable. Sometimes a re-soak with a photoflow soluition and then dry can help. That would require the film be removed from the mount. Anything you try I would only try on one slide to see how well it works or if problems pop up. Drum scans with oil can sometimes hide things so that might be an expensive option. Otherwise, looks like fixing in software may be needed.
This seems the closest to the Kodak stuff: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/16677-REG/Edwal_EDAFC4_Anti_Stat_Film_Cleaner_Liquid.html
The Kodak film cleaner contained carbon-tet which is now banned. There is also a cleaner by PEC-12 but I'd stay away from that as I tried it years ago and it doesn't work.
The cleaner will only remove foreign material. I suspect what you have described is more a change to the film itself. This would mean the only chance of a restoration would be the soak.

 

[Steve W]

There are professional shops that do thus sort of work.... not cheap. I guess it depends on the value of the slides to you.
Here is one example

Slide Restoration & Raw Slide Scanning | TMTV

Complete Digital & Physical Restoration of Damaged Slides. Water, Fire Damaged, Bent, Warped or Scratched. Dirty, Moldy, Faded, Dark Slides.

tmtv.net

 

[tigger4t]

There are professional shops that do thus sort of work.... not cheap. I guess it depends on the value of the slides to you.
Here is one example

Slide Restoration & Raw Slide Scanning | TMTV

Complete Digital & Physical Restoration of Damaged Slides. Water, Fire Damaged, Bent, Warped or Scratched. Dirty, Moldy, Faded, Dark Slides.

tmtv.net

Thanks - they are my Dad's family snaps taken with a 1960s Canon compact camera so I won't be spending any money on them

 

[tigger4t]

Kodak film cleaner worked well but I don't think it's available anymore. I wouldn't use anything on the matte (emulsion) side as that is the image and any damage is mostly non-recoverable. Sometimes a re-soak with a photoflow soluition and then dry can help. That would require the film be removed from the mount. Anything you try I would only try on one slide to see how well it works or if problems pop up. Drum scans with oil can sometimes hide things so that might be an expensive option. Otherwise, looks like fixing in software may be needed.
This seems the closest to the Kodak stuff: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/16677-REG/Edwal_EDAFC4_Anti_Stat_Film_Cleaner_Liquid.html
The Kodak film cleaner contained carbon-tet which is now banned. There is also a cleaner by PEC-12 but I'd stay away from that as I tried it years ago and it doesn't work.
The cleaner will only remove foreign material. I suspect what you have described is more a change to the film itself. This would mean the only chance of a restoration would be the soak.

Thanks - yes, it's more like a water- stain on the gloss side

 

[Warren D]

Thanks - yes, it's more like a water- stain on the gloss side

Chances are the only thing that might work is re-soaking them. Use distilled water and a fotoflo solution. Let them sit for 10 or 20 minutes and then hang to dry. Try one of the ones you'd consider disposable first.