Help on stored negs that got wet
 

Hi all,

Thought my negs were safe, but apparently condensation got to my
sleeved negs thanks to Isabel.

There are both color negative and b/w [some over 40 yrs old]. The
trouble with some of the b/w is that I made contact prints and stuck
the contact strips in with the negatives in the sleeves.

There are over 100 rolls involved here.

What is the best way to handle this situation?

[My first thought was immersing them in cool water, with a low
percentage dish soap solution, rinse them and dry them].

Kodak didn't answer my queries- guess they're too panic'd and busy
switching to digital.

All replies appreciated.

Gin

Help on stored negs that got wet
 

Gin wrote:

Hi all,

Thought my negs were safe, but apparently condensation got to my
sleeved negs thanks to Isabel.

There are both color negative and b/w [some over 40 yrs old]. The
trouble with some of the b/w is that I made contact prints and stuck
the contact strips in with the negatives in the sleeves.

There are over 100 rolls involved here.

What is the best way to handle this situation?

[My first thought was immersing them in cool water, with a low
percentage dish soap solution, rinse them and dry them].

Kodak didn't answer my queries- guess they're too panic'd and busy
switching to digital.

All replies appreciated.

Gin

You don't say what is wrong with the negatives. Have they stuck to the
insides of the sleeves and the contract strips?

You first thought is probably close to what's necessary if that is the
case, and you might still not be able to save them.

There was a discussion of fire and water damage to negatives on kodak's
web site. You might get some answers there.

Help on stored negs that got wet
 

James Robinson wrote in message ...
Gin wrote:

Hi all,

Thought my negs were safe, but apparently condensation got to my
sleeved negs thanks to Isabel.

There are both color negative and b/w [some over 40 yrs old]. The
trouble with some of the b/w is that I made contact prints and stuck
the contact strips in with the negatives in the sleeves.

There are over 100 rolls involved here.

What is the best way to handle this situation?

[My first thought was immersing them in cool water, with a low
percentage dish soap solution, rinse them and dry them].

Kodak didn't answer my queries- guess they're too panic'd and busy
switching to digital.

All replies appreciated.

Gin

You don't say what is wrong with the negatives. Have they stuck to the
insides of the sleeves and the contract strips?

You first thought is probably close to what's necessary if that is the
case, and you might still not be able to save them.

There was a discussion of fire and water damage to negatives on kodak's
web site. You might get some answers there.

////
The whole gammet: negs stuck to each other, to the contact strips.

I will check out Kodak's site.

Just curious, what does everybody use today for a wetting agent [to
prevent streaks when drying the negs]?


Gin

Help on stored negs that got wet
 

You may be in trouble. It is very difficult to separate wet negatives. You
could try your water solution, but instead of soap, try Kodak Photo Flo.
Lots o' Luck

Help on stored negs that got wet
 

"Stuart Droker" wrote in message ...
You may be in trouble. It is very difficult to separate wet negatives. You
could try your water solution, but instead of soap, try Kodak Photo Flo.
Lots o' Luck

/
Kodak responded with the following::

Caveats: first, try a museum that specializes in handling photo negs.
and the following:
Paraphrasing:

Put negatives in cold water. Try to gently separate the negs. DO NOT
USE
force. Let soak a while longer, then try again, always working
gently.
Keep water cold, even to the point of putting the batch in the
refrigerator.

Finish negative bath with photo flo. Then place on screens to dry at
room temperature [I asked what they mean by screens but haven't
received a reply yet].
Another caveat they added was: "Negatives could be ruined by this
process.

They did not recommend any type of soap or solvent [other than that
great solvent of all time: water].

Kind of disappointed that they recommended a museum specialist in
negatives: I would think that person's first stop would be Kodak
Techs.

Anyway, I am going to take a few strips stuck together and try a
minute part of dish soap in cold water and see what happens. If it
does not soften the image emulsion [emulsion image?], I'll go for it.
Since I have to do the dishes once in a while, I know "DAWN" is wicked
stuff, so will probably try IVORY.

Hope you all never run into this.

And don't do anything stupid like I did by sliding in a contact strip
in with the negative in the sleeve.

Gin