Cleaning Your Old Black and White Negatives

Many people wonder how you clean old black and white negatives. Some of these people decide not to even worry about it, and let their photos and negatives even further deteriorate. Others decide it is easiest to just find a professional photographer and pay them to clean the most precious of the lot. It seems very few people actually go and learn how to clean old negatives on their own. They feel that the task is too time consuming, or too difficult to learn. They are actually quite wrong.

Learning how to do this is not difficult, contrary to what you may think. It is actually a simple process. If you know how to clean colored negatives then you already have the process learned. Cleaning black and whites is the same process as cleaning colored negatives. There are a few additional steps you will want to take, but over all the process is the same.

The first step in cleaning your old black and white negatives is to make a back up copy of the photograph. This is so that if some thing unexpected happens you still have a back up of the photograph. The next step you will take is blowing off the loose dust. Then you will either slightly dampen the negative with 99% alcohol or a photo cleansing agent.

Most photo cleansing agents can be bought at any store where photography equipment is sold. Then you will wipe of the cleansing agent with a cotton ball. Be sure not to press to hard, or let the cleansing agent stay on the negative for a long period. If there is any remaining dust, after you follow these steps, you can use a small brush to lightly remove it.

After you have followed this process, it is best to leave the negative alone for a brief period of time. This will allow you to determine if you have caused any damage to the negative. It will also let you see where any remaining dirt particles are on the negative. If you are not comfortable in using your own negatives to learn the process, you can always take a workshop.

Workshops are very thorough and immensely beneficial and in many cases they will even allow you to bring in own of your own negatives. Getting the practice with a professional is a great way to make sure you do not ruin your old negatives. I recently took one of these workshops and learned many different techniques that helped me save some very old back and white negatives.

Learning how to clean old black and white negatives is one of the best ways to preserve your family's history. Once old photos become faded, your negatives are the only way to replace the photo. If your negatives have been destroyed, you lose a vital part of your history. Generations to come can enjoy these family heirlooms if you learn to clean the negatives. What better way to preserve your family's place in history.