Has anyone found a solvent that will remove old fingerprints from slides without dissolving the emulsion? I have used hexylene glycol for fresh fingerprints with good results but it does not work with old fingerprints. Any ideas? SR

-- Steve Rasmussen (srasmuss@flash.net), December 29, 1999

Answers

The product most often recommended for cleaning is PEC-12, however I don't know if it would remove what you've got. It's label says it removes fonger oil but that is something that resides on top of the emulsion. I assume you're talking about a fingerprint that has changed the character of the film and migrated into the emulsion. If that's the case I think you're out of luck. BTW, the cleaner I use most often is MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) solvent.

-- Garrett Adams (gadams@jps.net), December 29, 1999.

Steve,

This may sound nuts but I've actually done this more than once. If you have any of Kodak's final rinse chemistry for transparencies it is apparently a nonionic surfactant (sort of like photoflo without the cationic charge). I'm not sure the charge matters, but if you make up a batch and wash the affected slide with it, rubbing the finger printed area with your fingers, squeegee the slide and hang to dry you should do no damage yet effectively clean the transparency. I would recommend trying this with a sample you can afford to lose before attempting it on your commercial stuff but I've yet to do anything negative to a transparency yet. I have damaged B&W negs that were fixed with a non-hardening fixer but that is a different animal.

-- Patrick Drennon (sierraengineering@worldnet.att.net), January 12, 2000.

I have had the same problem. Not so much with fingerprints but mostly badacting repro-people that don't remove the oil or gel, used when scanning. Fingerprints can be hard to remove, specially if you don't remove them at once. My working solution are to use the Tetenal Drysonal. It's a quickdryer, intentional made for drying b/w. But works perfect on slides - on any side. Take an old wellwashed handkershief, imens it with a lot of Drysonal, very gently (no pressure) work on the slide. Clean it after with a clean hankershief - no pressure.

-- Bert Wiklund (photo@post9.tele.dk), February 07, 2000.