Has anyone successfully removed cloudy blotches of what I presume is mold on the emulsion side of Kodachrome transparencies?
So far, I have only brushed them gently with a wide artist's pure sable (ultra soft) brush.
I have pretty much given up researching this online as I am finding tons of conflicting and very bad advice.
They have always been stored in a warm and dry home, but I guess that the passage of time has taken its toll.
If mold has eaten any of the emulsion, that cannot be recovered. I've use Edwal Anti-Stat Film Cleaner for years - seems to preserve slides and negatives.
Some excellent information here:
www.wilhelm-research.com/pdf/HW_Book_18_of_20_HiRes_v1c.pdf
Thank you for the information; unfortunately, Edwal Anti-Stat Film Cleaner is not available in the UK
Photographic Emulsion Cleaner, PEC 12
is readily available here, though some of the reviewers on Amazon said that it destroyed their slides!
Of course, their application method may have been too aggressive... who knows.
www.preservationequipment.com/Catalogue/Cleaning-Products/Cleaning-Agents/Photographic-Emulsion-Cleaner-PEC-12
Thanks also for the pdf; I’ve just seen this post and I will read it later.
Edit: WARNING: Do not use PEC 12 to clean digital camera sensors, or any other parts of your camera / lens.
I'm sure that PEC 12 is as safe and effective as Edwal. Let us know how it goes.
I have used PEC 12 a number of times over the years with no problems on Kodachrome slides , when scanning my wider families images as well as my own . My oldest Kodachrome slides were from the 1980's . My late grandfather was a keen photographer and I used PEC 12 to clean some slides of his from the 1960's . Obviously as with all cleaning products there is always the possibility to over do it 😀 As Leitz suggests if the mold has done physical damage to the emulsion there is no fixing that 😒 Good luck with whatever you decide to use maybe try out on less important images first