8mm Forum: Now, I'm Confused

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Topic: Now, I'm Confused

Maurice Leakey
Film God

Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007

posted June 24, 2018 09:45 AM

I'm sure everybody will have been reading my 16mm posting about polyester film.

Today I was inspecting a 16mm feature just received, black & white on AG stock. (No date codes on AG stock). Out of its cans and it seemed to be polyester after the suggested test of holding sideways to a light source to see if translucent and even see the outline of your hand through it.

The leader of the second part had presumably suffered from a bad auto-load and had about 9-10 inches of damaged and pulled perforations. Really too much to repair so I cut out the section and re-joined on my CIR.

Before throwing it into my waste bin I tried to tear it apart, not really expecting it to do this as it appeared to be polyester.

To my amazement I was able to snap it very easily in many places.

So was it acetate?

According to many web-sites the test for polyester can be achieved four ways:-

1) The translucent test
2) Not likely to tear
3) Using polarising filters
4) Not able to use cement joins

Now I am most confused. [Embarrassed]

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Maurice

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Jose Artiles
Master Film Handler

Posts: 357
From: Spain
Registered: Oct 2005

posted June 24, 2018 12:58 PM

Star and polyester stock are almost imposible to cut or tear by hand so if the film is tear apart is not polyester is vinyl acetate.

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As Steven Spielberg says....
Nothing beats old school projection. Digital is just an imitation.

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Kevin Clark
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 978
From: Bapchild, Kent, UK
Registered: May 2004

posted June 24, 2018 07:01 PM

Hello Maurice

My advice is stick with the criteria you mentioned but just numbers 2,3 and 4 - as I stated in your other post I was nearly fooled into selling Mark my spare 16mm print of County Hospital which looked so much like polyester - translucent on the reel and flat as a pancake - but tested as acetate when torn at the start of the countdown leader and then successfully spliced with a cement splicer.

Kevin.

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Maurice Leakey
Film God

Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007

posted June 25, 2018 10:29 AM

Good advice, Kevin
The oft mentioned suggestion of holding the spool sideways up to the light certainly does not seem to be a reliable check for polyester.
I've proved it.

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Maurice

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Terry Sills
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1423
From: Weymouth,Dorset,England
Registered: Oct 2012

posted June 26, 2018 01:30 AM

Maybe holding up to the light is not a check for polyester, but it is an excellent and very easy way to check for splices an film damage. My experience is that it works on all 16mm film base.

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