I recently purchased a grouping that included about a dozen photos, the highlights being a couple of nice 8X10s. The photos are in excellent condition, but a few seem to have some grime and fingerprints on the surface. How should I go about cleaning these? Would rubbing a damp cloth on the surface be ok?
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Most black and white photographs have a shiny surface applied to the print right during the print drying stages. The photo glossy appearance was applied using a shiny heated chrome surface. Usually the freshly washed print was soaked for a few minutes in a solution before it was applied to a hot chromed surface.
If you were to dampen a rag with water, and apply it to the print to clean the surface. You may remove the thin silver prints emulsion, or the photographic print will wrinkle. If you dip the print in water you risk the print to severely wrinkle and curl up. If you know someone who has a black and white darkroom, and has a photographic print dryer they may be able to help you out. by carefully rewashing and reapplying the shiny glossy print surface. I have done this in the past, but you gotta have the equiptment to do it.
Today most new photographic black and white paper has a resin coating helping to avoid one extra step. I would advise using a new natural brush and gently brushing off the surface. Do not apply a lot of pressure in fear of producing scratches to the print. Starting form today forward always use cotton or latex gloves when handling any photographic images. Anybody body oils,or left over dirt and grime on your hands. Over time you will damage the image. Eventually you will just rub all that gime back into the thin layer of photographic paper emulsion.
Of course these are your items to do with as you see fit. -
Scan the photo's and let someone restore them digitally.Comment
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Thank you guys. I think I will consult a photographer friend of mine and may just end up leaving them as is. I am storing them in 100% acid free archival boxes in mylar jackets.Comment
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Don't forget to keep the humidity in check. 24/7 -365Comment
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Good point, if you want to display or use the prints somehow, get some quality modern prints done from a scan and keep the originals in the safe dark place.Originally posted by JWL View Post
Part of my work is photography and re-touching of work for print. I've done the restoration of old family photo's for people and procured nice prints for them to display. Even taken out people from groups that they didn't want in
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Photo cleaning
Hello,
I have used:
http://www.photosol.com/store/pc/video/pec12.html
The fingerprints if are very old doesn't quit, pen annotations neither; just some dirt removal visible in the wipe after rubbing. By the smelling of this very volatile liquid, I'd say it is basically acetone.
To scan the photo, better in the maximun resolution so a previous cleaning may save a lot of further digital retouching.
This Christmas I was gifted with a book about photo digital restouring by an author with strange name: Ctein, and this is his standard procedure.
Hope this helpsComment
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