film cleaner?

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mr_x
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film cleaner?

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Re: film cleaner?

Post by Tommy »

I am not familiar with this product. But the 2 most popular products are FILM RENEW and FILM GUARD. I also read of an enthusiast who claims that Armour ALL protective wipes make an excellent film cleaning product.
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Re: film cleaner?

Post by mr_x »

Thanks Tommy,

It's just that this cleaner appears to be available in the UK, virtually everything else I see comes in from continental Europe or the USA and that means steep postage charges :-o

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Re: film cleaner?

Post by Andreas Wideroe »

Hi Tommy,

Here's a list of all Kodak recommended cleaning solvents:

http://motion.kodak.com/motion/Support/ ... olvent.htm

We use Isopropanol.

Best,
Andreas
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Re: film cleaner?

Post by mr_x »

awand wrote:Hi Tommy,

Here's a list of all Kodak recommended cleaning solvents:

http://motion.kodak.com/motion/Support/ ... olvent.htm

We use Isopropanol.
Many thanks Andreas,

There is film cleaner available in Britain but will Isopropanol clean & lube please?

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Re: film cleaner?

Post by Andreas Wideroe »

No, it will only clean. Lubricating is generally only advice for films used for projection. Here's a formula that can be used, but beware that all lubrication formulas and methods should be tested for the long term effect it may have on films. I personally never lube my films.

Film Lubricant Formula (full coat)

PE Tetrastearate
(Pentaerythritol tetastearate)*
0.59 g

Methyl Chloroform (inhibited)**
1 L

/Andreas
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Re: film cleaner?

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Tommy wrote:I am not familiar with this product. But the 2 most popular products are FILM RENEW and FILM GUARD. I also read of an enthusiast who claims that Armour ALL protective wipes make an excellent film cleaning product.
It should be noted that neither Film Renew nor Film Guard are cleaners. Film Renew is a relaxant use to make brittle film more supple by soaking the film in the solution for X amount of time. Film Guard is really just a kind of oil that is used to fill in the base scratches of film to help hide them. In either case, Film Renew nor Film Guard should be left on the rewound film for an extended period. Both should be (ironically) cleaned from the film using actual film cleaner such as Edwals or Solvon or Ecco, etc. This is really no joke. We get in films all the time where the emulsion has become soft and pulls off the film because years ago the owner used Film Guard to "clean" his films and then left it on the reel. Film Renew does eventually evaporate over time if left to open air but if rewound on a reel in a closed metal can, the outgassing can cause potential problems.

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Re: film cleaner?

Post by etimh »

MovieStuff wrote:...using actual film cleaner such as Edwals or Solvon or Ecco, etc.
Roger, any preferences?

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Re: film cleaner?

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etimh wrote:
MovieStuff wrote:...using actual film cleaner such as Edwals or Solvon or Ecco, etc.
Roger, any preferences?

Tim
I dunno. I've used Edwals for years but they recently changed the solution. It used to be tetrachloroethylene, your basic carcinogenic du-jour. But I think they changed it to something ostensibly safer or, at the very least, easier to pronounce. But the new Edwals supposedly dries slower. Solvon is available from Urbanski and is supposed to be non-toxic and can be shipped overseas without a permit. We've used it and it dries slower than the old Edwals but supposed faster than the new Edwals. I've never use Ecco but a lot of people do. From the looks of the film path on our units, it seems to kind of eat away at plastic a bit so it definitely has a solvent in it of some kind. But, again, if it is dry it should not be a problem.

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Re: film cleaner?

Post by mr_x »

MovieStuff wrote:... I've never use Ecco but a lot of people do. From the looks of the film path on our units, it seems to kind of eat away at plastic a bit so it definitely has a solvent in it of some kind. But, again, if it is dry it should not be a problem.
I used Ecco for years when I could import it from the USA, but that was when exchange rates were good. But Ecco disappeared from the Bay. I might try this new liquid out of curiosity. Slow drying solutions are a real problem, I built a 6 foot rewind for cleaning/lubing film but some of these lube-cleaners stay wet for an eternity. Ecco used to evaporate in seconds, you could work swiftly with it.
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