Poor man's wetgate

[jrcasey1960]

Through other users (including VideoFred) I've recently been using what I term a "poor man's" technique for wetgating and wanted to share it with those interested.

I began to experiment a bit because some of the footage I've been transferring lately has very intrusive base scratches. It's a fairly simple technique: I apply FilmGuard just prior to scanning--it stays on wet and works great. The trick is to apply only the right amount and not too much, which might cause some minor streaking.

I use a Retro-8 scanner from Roger Evans and the FilmGuard causes no problems with the unit to date--of course, I do clean the gate and rollers after use.

This technique makes a huge difference in my transfers of heavily scratched prints.

Here's a Vimeo link for a side by side sample--not the best footage and sync between the images drifts but you'll get the idea:
https://vimeo.com/144699729

[sciolist]

Very impressive. I wonder if Roger could somehow accessorize the Retro-8 scanner with a wet gate.

[jrcasey1960]

Thanks. I know that Roger did place two holes in the cabinet on one side for the user to mount accessories of their own design. Not being an engineer, I had to come up with my own solution (manual application of a slow drying cleaner/lubricant).

[doug]

Yes highly impressive. I presume one could also use this technique for DIY optical printing to film.
Can you tell us a bit more how you apply the liquid, is it done for very short lengths of film, then pause etc ?

[jrcasey1960]

Doug:

I apply the FilmGuard manually with PEC pads and I generally do 200' at a time. The FilmGuard is VERY slow drying and will remain wet on the film for days to weeks (although I'm sure it's not, it has an oil-like look and smell).

As I mentioned, the trick is not to overapply as that may cause some visible streaking on the film. If I see that, I just run it through a dry pad.

FilmGuard is fairly expensive but it goes a long way. The manufacturer states that only 1 ounce is required for a 35mm feature film, thus the amount needed for 8mm is miniscule.

[Nate Williams]

I would love to try some FilmGuard on this old film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOCBA3kIctc

It's in pretty rough shape and could benefit from some.

Now the only problem is finding some. Even Film-Tech's Amazon store shows it out of stock.

[jrcasey1960]

I contacted Brad with Film Tech and he stated that FilmGuard will be back in stock within a couple of months. You had me worried there......