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Author
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Topic: Cleaning vintage NASA glossy photo prints?
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stsmithva
Member Posts: 1933
From: Fairfax, VA, USA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 02-22-2015 06:09 AM
   
I am fortunate enough to own many "red serial number" NASA prints with the "A KODAK PAPER" watermark on the back. Can anyone give me advice on cleaning them? I just spent some time online researching this, but thought I'd check here. First, I know I'd want to use cotton gloves when handling them, and lint-free wipers. Just a few prints have visible dirt and would require real effort. Would Pec-12 photo cleaner be a good one to try? As for the rest, I think most would benefit from a quick wipe to remove about 50 years' worth of faint residue from not-great storage. Just distilled water, or something stronger? Almost all of the advice websites said to make sure the photo is "silver-based." I don't know nearly enough about photography to know if this is the case with vintage NASA prints. An official Kodak website suggested 99% isopropyl alcohol. Any advice about that? I would of course test the methods on portions of a couple of the more damaged photos. But any tips you could give me here would be greatly appreciated. |
garymilgrom
Member Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 02-22-2015 07:51 AM
Steve: Your photos are all silver based. I have no experience but would try Kodak's advice first. I wonder if Pec 12 is nothing more than alcohol. Good luck. |
stsmithva
Member Posts: 1933
From: Fairfax, VA, USA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 02-22-2015 01:47 PM
Thanks Gary. Hey look, we both registered on cS in February of 2007! |
DebKoons
Member Posts: 21
From: El Dorado, KS
Registered: Feb 2014
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posted 03-01-2015 09:33 AM
Definitely read the PEC-12 label (I use it). I don't believe it's the same as alcohol, and you definitely want to test it on a corner of one of the prints to see if it is safe. I'm suspicious of a Kodak site that says to use alcohol, personally — maybe on film or a slide, but on a print? (I worked for Kodak Professional for nearly 20 years, but in the digital color science groups.)Not sure what kind of dirt you have, but if it's anything water-soluble, PEC-12 won't help. I have vintage NASA glossies, but I'd be afraid to try any liquid. I use it on old studio photos, the ones from the early 20th Century, but haven't even tried it on old snapshots. Have you tried googling for archival glossy photo cleaning, or something like that, and seeing what types of resources you find? By the way, PEC also makes some wipes. |
kosmo
Member Posts: 388
From:
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted 03-01-2015 11:14 AM
If I remember, and its been a long time, non RC Kodak paper was coated before dried with a water soluble, gelatin like coating. Just try water on a test print. | |
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