DON’T THROW YOUR FILM AWAY…
We are the Film Recovery Experts
Motion Picture Film Recovery and Restoration is not as simple as it sounds. Many people think you can just soak damaged movie film in a solution and all the problems will go away… it’s not that simple!
You can’t “unshrink” motion picture film with chemicals to make it transfer better, brittle film will not become pliable, wavy warped film will not straighten using any of the chemicals listed below. Chemicals and treated film is not the only solution to helping with film recovery and restoration. If you think by soaking the film, your damaged film problems are going to magically go away… think again… read the facts on film chemical use.
DO NOT SOAK DRIED, CRACKED, EMULSION DAMAGED OR BRITTLE DAMAGED FILM. If your film shows any signs of being brittle or cracked, do not use a chemical bath or soak the film. Let us handle the film for you. Exposing brittle film to any solutions will result in the complete loss of the film. No soaking chemical treatment will help make the film hold together or unshrink the film.
The use of any film treatment product without trained knowledge on how to handle the film would be a mistake. We use several types of treatments for warped, dried, vinegar syndrome film, including chemicals/heat/pressure to achieve the best result for handling and then transfer of the film with our specialty designed scanners. We have had several customers treat their film with products such as Vitafilm, Filmrenew, Filmguard and home remedies only to find out it turned into a disaster or did not work at all.
IF the film has very mild signs of vinegar syndrome including mold or mild warping then a quick dunk or an easy soak can help, but again, you can NOT unshrink film, make it pliable again and some of these products are very toxic, smell really bad and are very harmful if not handled properly. Vitafilm themselves says; “make sure your METAL reel does not have a plastic core or it will MELT”. So you can see, it is not, too mild of a product and care should be taken when using these products on you own. AGAIN…You can’t “unshrink” or make “brittle” or “dried” motion picture film stick together again with ANY of these chemicals mentioned. Using chemicals is not the only solution in helping with film recovery and restoration. It has to be combined with several processes to be successful. If the films is dry, brittle and falling apart, then let the pros handle the film. Believe us! If your film is on plastic reels and has mold, dirt, grime or vinegar syndrome, is brittle or dried… DO NOT USE Vitafilm, Filmrenew or Filmguard, it will melt the reels and could melt, soften or remove the film emulsion (picture/image) and will remove all the film splices, melt any plastic cores or plastic film reels.
It is a shame, but improper handling has resulted in many disappointments by people who think they can treat movie film themselves. They usually end up sending the film to us (TMTV) after their treatment, but by then it’s usually too late and the film gets thrown out. We have seen this many times.
CLEANING FILM AND FILM CLEANERS: DO-IT-YOURSELF – WEBSITE ARTICLE FROM TEAMWORK MEDIA (TMTV)
HAVE DAMAGED MOVIE FILM?… CONTACT TEAMWORK MEDIA (TMTV).
