Fungus

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Is there any way to get fungus off old negatives?
 
You can wash them, but if the fungus is on the emulsion side it may have damaged them beyond the ability of washing to help much. Can you post an scan?

- Randy
 
I don't have a scanner (maybe for Xmas :D). I might be able to put them on my light box and take a pic with my wife's DSLR, but they would still be negative.
 
If they are black and white you can wash them in photo-flo, but if they are color you need to use more caution. Older color negatives require a formaldehyde stabilizer to preserve them properly after being washed, and newer color negatives have something newer called a 'final rinse' that is supposed to be, quite literally, the final rinse, but I'm not clear on what it really is. Given that it takes some time for fungus to grow I'm betting that they're older.

Before you do anything to them either have them printed or scanned. That way you have something if things go wrong. Otherwise if they get ruined you've got nothing left. Once that's done try the photo-flo route and if they clean up and are color you can order some stabilizer to dip them in again.

If the fungus is on the shiney side (non-emulsion) you can wipe it fairly roughly with a cloth or paper towel. If it is on the emulsion side you must use caution as the emulsion will be softer when wet. As I stated above, depending on the severity you may have difficulty removing it.

- Randy
 

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