Posts: 715
From: Campobasso, Italy
Registered: Jun 2013
posted August 20, 2018 04:54 PM
Filmguard arrived today. I have some tests and it seems excellent, but I still have to learn how to dose it. Having it sprayer, how many sprays are suitable... every 15 meters of film? Or maybe one spray is indicated for more meters?
Posts: 506
From: Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK
Registered: Mar 2016
posted August 20, 2018 06:07 PM
I put the film onto the arms of my cine editor. I use a small artist's paint brush to apply a little Filmguard to both sides of the film between the arms. I hold a piece of clean cotton cloth around the film between my thumb and first finger as I wind, say, 15 to 30 metres of film from one spool to the other depending on how dirty the film is when I check the cloth. I then repeat the process using a fresh piece of cotton each time until the end of the reel is reached. When I rewind, I hold a piece of cotton cloth lightly between my thumb and finger again to wipe off the surplus. You don't need much Filmguard as a little goes a long way.
Posts: 280
From: Rajburana, Bangkok, Thailand
Registered: Aug 2017
posted August 20, 2018 09:57 PM
Eventually managed to get a bottle of FilmGuard from Steve Osborne's store (yay! ) for my fellow collector. He's kind enough to let me have a small sample&try it a bit before passing it to him.
From what I've found,it is a bit more "oily" than I thought. So I gave only a squirt of spray on the cloth to make it wet,but not dripping. Then run a test reel (50ft of 8mm film) through it. Found out that's still more than enough,so I run the second pass with the other side of the cloth (where it's still not so wet) to wipe off the excess.
The result is quite exactly what I expected. The film runs smoother/quieter than it was. The small base scratches simply disappeared. Emulsion scratches&other blemishes are noticeably reduced. Dust&dirt are partially removed,too.
Summary - apply just enough amount of FilmGuard to make it effective. Over-application would be quite a waste and would cause more trouble than solution.
-------------------- Just a lone collector from a faraway land...
Posts: 373
From: Barendrecht, The Netherlands
Registered: Aug 2017
posted August 21, 2018 05:51 AM
Yes I overdid this and running that film through my GS1200 the soundhead had difficulty with this I think. I heared a lot of noise. Now I have to clean the soundhead with alcohol.
Posts: 715
From: Campobasso, Italy
Registered: Jun 2013
posted August 21, 2018 10:42 AM
Ok, one spray for 50ft is more than abundant, lesson learned. I had sprayed two of them, the film was very oily, but passing the dry cloth and surplus go out.
A note: it is normal that in addition to normal dirt, on the cloth you also see the signs of the magnetic strips? Of course, the strip is not damaged, it is not detached and always works. I remember that this also happened also with other cleaners.
Posts: 4554
From: New York, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
posted August 21, 2018 01:09 PM
Luigi,
Yes, a little streak the same color as the stripe sometimes shows up on the cloth. This has happened with every cleaner I have ever used and there has never been an audio issue.
Doug
-------------------- I think there's room for just one more film.....
Posts: 373
From: Barendrecht, The Netherlands
Registered: Aug 2017
posted August 21, 2018 04:35 PM
I think the audio issue I have is because of all the oil on the soundhead. I hope, otherwise my projector has another serious issue. Too bussy with work at the moment, so I placed this on the side for now.
Posts: 715
From: Campobasso, Italy
Registered: Jun 2013
posted August 22, 2018 04:50 PM
Thanks Douglas, it's true, there have never been any damage to the magnetic strips even if I found those little brown traces. It also happened to me with a cleaner that was not even lubricant.
Mark, I think the UK retailer also has a small bottle, but I don't know the cost.
Matthieu, but this problem with heads happened sometimes even before You used Filmguard? Did you then try to clean with alcohol? Me too, the first time I got too grease on film, but audio sounded good.
Posts: 525
From: Dallas, TX, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
posted August 22, 2018 06:53 PM
FYI - 1 ounce is a typical amount to properly clean and lubricate a 2 hour 35mm print (which would be about 12,000 feet).
So obviously it takes hardly any at all to do a Super 8 print.
Posts: 373
From: Barendrecht, The Netherlands
Registered: Aug 2017
posted November 22, 2018 03:49 PM
Splicing films together is a problem after adding Filmguard, since it won't stick anymore. I had to clean it off with a alcohol tissue for glasses. I did this with the ends of both parts (12 frames or so), and after splicing togetrher, I added Filmguard again and cleaned it.
Posts: 4486
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jun 2013
posted November 22, 2018 05:54 PM
I just dry (with a cloth) the zone I want to splice (with tapes) and it works without problem. When I use cement, I splice before appliying Filmguard but I guess that since you remove a part of the stock, the product should not interfer with the glue.
Posts: 373
From: Barendrecht, The Netherlands
Registered: Aug 2017
posted November 24, 2018 07:37 AM
I use taape. I just added filmguard and than decided to put the 3 400" reels on a 1200" reel. Taping did not stick and drying with a cloth did not work for me. Maybe because it was still to fresh. Not sure the alcohol damages film.
Posts: 525
From: Dallas, TX, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
posted November 24, 2018 10:45 AM
The FilmGuard should wipe off with ease using a dry cloth. If it isn't, then you are applying WAY too much and will simply have to use multiple dry cloths to dry off those 2 frames before you apply the splicing tape.