BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: Problems with Images

remove tobacco smoke stains from photo

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July 19, 2007

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July 19, 2007

Prints are more robust than you think. You can use film cleaner to clean prints. This is the same cleaner sold in camera shops to clean negatives. It is unlikely that this cleaner will do harm to any print if you clean with care. I am more forceful than most thus I would not hesitate to try ordinary rubbing alcohol. Use the alcohol straight from the bottle. You can use denatured alcohol from the hardware store. Apply liberally with a soft cloth. This alcohol has little water content. It is important not to use diluted alcohol as water will cause the gelatin, the print’s surface, to swell and become soft. Soft gelatin can’t tolerate scrubbing.

You can wash prints with running water from the cold water faucet. The main danger is, wet prints are soft and thus they scratch easily. First place one print in a tray and soak it in cool water for 30 minutes. You can add a few drops of dishwashing detergent; this will remove accumulated environmental stuff. After soaking, rinse in running cold water for 10 minutes.

Old color prints that have been washed should be soaked in “Stabilizer” solution if possible. Soak time is not critical; I would go for about 120 seconds. This is a benign chemical so don’t be afraid to get some and use it.

The stabilizer is the last chemical bath of the film and color print process. The Stabilizer neutralizes residual chemicals of the developing process but more importantly, the Stabilizer adds longevity to the gelatin emulsion and the dye (technically known as “salting in the dye” Stabilizer solution is available at larger camera stores selling color developer chemicals. Better yet you should be able to get a gallon or so from a local one-hour shop. It’s inexpensive so $5 or $10 should get you a gallon. Take a plastic milk bottle along. Some modern color paper formulations don’t need stabilizer. The one-hour shop may only have film Stabilizer. The similarity of the two solutions is such that you can use either for this task.

After soaking, lay out the print on a clean towel or blotter paper and allow to air dry. Mind what you are doing, wet prints are soft, they can be scratched and abraded easily

This is not rocket science, you can do this. Use caution, I have been known to dispense marginal technical advice.

Regards,
Alan Marcus
ammarcus@.earthlink.net

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July 19, 2007