Photo Restoration Tutorial: Cleaning Old Photos

So much can be done these days in Photoshop and other image editing packages to digitally "clean" and restore old photos, but there are still times when you will want to remove some grime or an unfortunate fingerprint from your photograph before you scan it. This is especially true if the dirt obscures facial details, which can be tricky to retouch at the best of times.

However, cleaning old photos is not something to be entered into lightly. Many old photos are just not suitable for cleaning - they may be too brittle, the emulsion may be unstable, or the dirt may have become embeded in the surface of the photo -and digital photo restoration is the only solution remaining.

If you wish to attempt to clean an old photo you are restoring, the Photographic Emulsion Cleaner PEC-12 comes highly recommended, and is probably the ONLY archival cleaner available. It is trusted by photographers, labs, museums and publishers around the world for cleaning old photos.

PEC-12 removes grease pencil, adhesive residue, finger oils, ball-point pen, fungus, smoke & soot damage, laser separation oil and most permanent inks. Containing no water (very important), PEC-12 dries instantly with no emulsion swelling and leaves no residue.

Tips for cleaning old photos:

• Only attempt cleaning on photos that are otherwise in good condition


• Test clean a small area of a similar photo that has no value to you


• Clean a small area at a time


• Do not press or rub the surface of the photo


• If the cleaning appears to be causing further damage to the surface, stop immediately


• NEVER use water to clean an old photo


• If you are using PEC-12 make sure you follow the manufacturers instruction regarding handling, ventilation, etc.


• Finally - There's always the chance that cleaning will cause damage to your old photo, so attempt it at your own risk. If you're not confident enough to have a go, contact a professional photo cleaner for an opinion.

You can get full technical information on PEC-12 from Photographic Solutions

-Mark.