Movie film cleaning and lubrication is vital to the life of your movie films! Consider it MANDATORY! Please resist that initial urge to pop your newly returned film from the lab into the projector and view it. First, always make sure you double check the leader splices, and then clean & lubricate your films when they return from processing. Except for films that you know for certain are cleaned and lubricated by a given lab. I'm not aware of any that do this anymore...unless you pay extra for a telecine preparation service. Cleaning and lubrication will minimize wear and tear and scratching on your films.

Also.....wipe film cleaner with lubricant thru out your projector's film path, and also on all rollers and film quides, and also do the same for your film editor/viewer. If in a pinch....you can always use Pledge liquid furniture polish or perhaps another furniture polish with wax. Spray it into a clean lintless white soft cloth, wipe the film between a set of rewinds carefully, allowing the cleaner to evaporate before the film takes up onto the take up reel. It dries slow....so you have to wind it very slow. Real film cleaner is best though.....since it dries rapidly and is designed for your films. Do a test FIRST on a small section of film, before proceeding.

What's most important is the films are as clean as possible (there will always be the occassional bit of fluff or hair now and then.....so always keep a can of dust off near the projector, and blow it into the gate from the top to dislodge the offensive particle while projecting!). And all movie films HAVE TO BE LUBRICATED prior to projection! I just can't emphasize this enough. Lubrication minimizes wear friction and helps to minimize scratching and also rough film running. Kodak stopped lubricating their 8mm films after processing back in 1984, and to the best of my knowledge there isn't any lab processing 8mm films that automatically lubricates them after processing as a normal part of their service. I know many 8mm filmmakers don't get around to lubing their films....then they wonder why they scratch so easily). Just as important...is to have the projector's film path immaculately clean, and wipe film lubricant on all rollers, film gate, film pressure plate and any surface the film rubs on.

When first cleaning & lubricating Kodachrome films for the very first time.....with any form of film cleaner and lubricant....it is very common for some color to come off on the cloth, in the form of a yellowish/orangish color. Don't be alarmed.....this is just surface dye and the films aren't being harmed. However....for your initial test.....on a short 10 inch section of scrap film.....carefully examine the film with a loupe before and after using the cleaner.....check for unusal streaks, image smearing etc.....if all looks fine....proceed, if not.....use something else. Motion picture films MUST be lubricated or they will suffer adverse premature film wear. Films are designed to be projected a minimum of 200 times.....so obviously, proper lubrication will extend film life.

-OLD B r i t t l e Films: Older brittle films are suffering from a variety of problems....usually they were never lubricated ever in their lifetime...and thus have no chemicals to help preserve the base material. Also....they could be very dried out from lack of moisture (films should be stored in a 50% to 60% Relative Humidity environment and not higher than 75°F...preferably 70deg;F or less. Generally speaking...where you live and are comfortable....so are your films, negative, photos and slides). Brittle films have to be repaired....all old splices checked and redone if necessary....broken perforations repaired (use Kodak Presstapes...apply only to one side, the base side....use both Presstapes if that section is very bad), and cleaned and lubricated. Often, you will have to consider soaking them in a solution to help bring back some life to the filmbase structure. FILMRENEW is a good product for this...but you have to follow directions...it's very safe for almost all films. Here's a source: Urbanski Film: Cans, Reels, & Supplies. After repair of the films, cleaning, treatment, lubricating etc.....transfer to video on good equipment that is gentle on transporting the film thru the projector. If you can afford it....have a new film copy made of anything that is very important to you. After you're finished.....rewind the film nice and snug and store away in a good environment (a bookshelf in your living room or so is fine).

Often times older projectors will have problems with their idler rollers turning freely. If they need lubrication, remove the rollers completely, clean their shafts, then place a drop of sewing machine or other high grade fine oil (not WD 40!) on the shaft and reassemble. If you're unable to get to them easily or don't want to take them apart....then use a spray silicone of good quality. The silicone is inert to motion picture film so any residue will not harm your films. Even so...wipe down any overspray. Silicone can also be used to lubricate the film path......spray some into a clean lintless white cloth and wipe down the entire film path, rollers, pressure plate and film gate. Do not spray it on those areas...rather wipe it on, and remove any excess. You can also use silicone to lubricate your films....however.....do a test on a small piece of given film you intend to lubricate and see that there isn't any damage. Also....ONLY use silicone to lubricate a film IF the film requires no further editing. Otherwise....you'll never be able to tape splice the film properly and cement will have trouble working as well. The film would have to be cleaned with an industrial film cleaner to remove the silicone traces.

To build your own film cleaning setup, get a set of old film rewinds (or new ones if you can afford it), and mount these on a 2" x 4" x 4ft board (it can be as short as 3ft or as long as 5ft if you have the space). You can make the board as short as 3ft or as long as 5 ft. The purpose of the length of the board is so that the film cleaner carrier solution can evaporate before the film winds onto itself on the take up reel. If the distance is too short, such as that of rewinds on a typical film editor...you will have to wind very slowly and this gets very tedious doing long lengths of movie film. There are commercially available low cost ($190 and up) film cleaning units such as the ECCO film cleaner. These are mounted on a board between your rewinds, allow the solution to flow just to keep the film cleaning pads moist enough with the solution, and have a lightly sprung tension on the upper pad arm, with a teflon roller to either side of the entry and exit points. Work with film cleaners where there is plenty of fresh air and air circulation, and try not to breathe the fumes directly.

Your rewind setup can also be used to do quick film repairs, film inspections, and to rewind your films after projection to prevent unnecessary wear and tear on the projector rewind motor and system. New film projectors for the 8mm gauges are rare, and very expensive. Purchasing mint condition used ones are getting more difficult to locate at reasonable prices.....so.....take care of what you have for long life.

Martin W. Baumgarten
See Martin's WWW site at: Plattsburgh Photographic Services

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