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Author
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Topic: Of Super 8mm and "Armour All"
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted October 10, 2008 03:19 PM
As Doug suggested, I thought I'd start a new post concerning applying "Armour all" to films, as it does interest me.
The questions are :
Are the ingredients to "Armour All" the same as we find in Film cleaners/conditioners?
Have those who have used "Armour All" on they're films, used it long enough to measure any potential bad side effects. A short time use of any film cleaner/conditioner may not show bad side effects, but, as we have found, some cleaners do not reveal thier bad properties until they have royally screwed up our film collections, whether that screw up is mag stripes coming off or color fade or complete dissolving of the film period.
So, the questions are out there. In my opinion, unless "Armour All and other like minded films are of the same compounds or ingredients as our average film cleaners (in the proper ratio) I see no problems with it. However, if not, I would rather err on the side of caution and stick with proper film cleaners, as they are specifically designed for film. I would hate to find, for instance, that using "Armour All" (or other cleaners with the same properties), would cause my L.P.P. prints to lose, perhaps, half of thier life due to use of these chemicals on them.
That's my two and three quarter cents opinion.
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Paul Adsett
Film God
Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted October 10, 2008 06:38 PM
Hi Osi,
If you are happy using commercial film cleaners, then I would say to keep using them. I am probably overly safety conscious, and have a personal aversion to film cleaners because of the use of chemical solvents and the general lack of published safety information in the form of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Remember that Carbon Tetrachloride was widely used for decades as a cleaning solvent in many industrial applications, only to find out later that it is a very toxic carcinogen. Same thing with Asbestos, and Beryllium. One thing for sure, no one is going to take any responsibility if you get sick using anything - you are on your own to live with the consequences.
I don't want to be alarmist, but that is the way I feel, you just have to be extremely careful using any chemicals. That is the reason I use Armorall. It is a water based silicone emulsion, so when applied sparingly, the water causes slight swelling of the film base, which tends to close up minor scratches, and the silicone applies a lubricating film. I have had film which has been almost unprojectionable due to warpage and shrinkage, which now projects fine after a couple of applications of Armorall. It does a reasonable job of cleaning, reducing scratches, and smoothing the running of the film. Is it as good as a professinal film cleaner? - probably not. I have been using it now for about 8 years and have so far seen no adverse effects. Will I see anything bad in another 10 years - it's anybody's guess, but I would rather risk film than my own health.
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The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar
Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj
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