[greggeye1]

Hi. I'm new here and was drawn to the site by information posted by another contributor. I'm trying to get information of cleaning negatives. I have about 100 B&W negatives about <3-1/2 inches long> and 2-1/2 wide^ ,from 120 film I've been told, from 1936. I'm using a Epson V600 scanner and have noticed a lot of "junk" beside the images when I scanned a few. I hoping I can clean them and hoping even more that one of you can assist me. I'm not a professional by any means, just want to do the best things possible to bring these picture back to life! Peace and Be well,Gregg

[stevebrot]

Hi Greg...welcome to Pentax Forums! There are commercially available negative cleaning solutions that are supposed to work well as well as solutions that can help with scratches. I have read several posts on this site regarding such, but have no personal experience in use. I am aware of one product that comes highly recommended. That is PEC-12 Archival Photographic Emulsion Cleaner. It is used in conjunction with PEC pads. You can buy it at Adorama:

Photographic Solutions PEC-12 Emulsion Cleaner, 4 oz PEC

and many other places. A quick search will bring up multiple links.


Steve

[artobest]

I have used PEC-12 with PEC pads in the past - be forewarned, it can be a frustrating experience, leaving all kinds of smear on the film. This is something that rewards great patience, I think.

[G and T]

I have just gone through the same thing with just over 400 glass negatives(8" x 6 1/2") from the first 2 decades of the 20th Century, I found plain water to be the easiest and least destructive. Run water over them for a few minutes and stand them up to dry ( in your case hang them up to dry). Just like washing a negative thats just been developed.
PS- Keep them away from dust while they are drying.
Good luck, Glenn