Vinegar Syndrome and Warping

[Ed Slosky]

I’ve been searching this forum for more info on the above issues but am not able to piece everything together and there still seems to be some unanswered questions, at least to me. I apologize in advance if I’m repeating questions/issues here. I prefer to leave no stone unturned prior to me just tossing them out.

At this point, I pretty much understand there are no cures to these issues and I intend to provide some pictures of the messes I’ve inherited. On the other hand I still wonder if there are any temporary solutions…in others words can anything be done, anything at all, with these reels to at least get one last view out of them?

Vinegar Syndrome - understood to let them air out and keep them away from others that do not have the syndrome. But what if I go ahead and attempt to play them on my home projector? Will the projector be permanently contaminated? Can/should it be cleaned after use? If so, with what? Too much of a risk? I really don’t plan on freezing them - I’m hoping to just get one view from them and that’s all.

Warped Film - in my case, this seems to go hand and hand with the VS. Some just stink while others stink AND are warped. And then there’s that white powdery stuff too! In fact, some of the outer layers have just crumbled to pieces (and I must admit I have not unreeled any yet and some of the insides look like they might not be as brittle as the outsides - that said I do realize looks and even smell or lack thereof mean nothing in these cases). So I’ve seen things like you can soak them to increase pliability, which will be temporary. Which is fine to me since, as I’ve noted, I just want to get one play out of them. But soak them in what? For how long?

In short, can anything be done at home to get these set for a final view? Any experimenters out there? Chances are they are pretty much ruined anyway and I’ve got quite a bit of them so I’m willing to try different methods (within financial reason) should anyone have any ideas. I really wouldn’t know what to experiment with in the first place! After all, I’m no chemist. And as a side note, I’m not that interested is sending them to Canada or the UK for refurbishment - I’m sure that’s not going to be cheap and I have to draw the line somewhere haha! Again, my goal is not preservation or curing; it is a final showing. Thanks in advance for any and all ideas no matter how experimental.

[Ozzie Williams]

Hi,

It is always sad to see film deteriorate...and with time this becomes more common I guess. I fear when I see such film I am resigned to the fact that there is little I can do in terms of its physical condition. I am sure others may have advice that might help, but ultimately there is a point where film just can't get through a normal projector anymore whatever you do (particularly if it is shrunk beyond a certain limit). Recognising that point can save a lot of time I think.

However, I have found that alternatives to projectors can work with even very warped, shrunk and VS film. Which may give up one last showing with a very slow and careful frame by frame scan (and colour adjustment, because this tends to go too with VS). And you get a digital copy for future viewing!

I realise you are looking for a practical suggestion that does not involve more time than its worth. Perhaps someone with a 16mm scanner could help in the USA? I know that if you were in the UK, I would have been more than happy to give a couple of these reels a try. I have seen some reels that have looked as bad as these give quite fair results with a little bit of patience and post work (although obviously it does not always work out), and the contents of which have been good enough to go on YT, and in some cases have been enjoyed by thousands of people todate.

Best of luck with them...I am sorry I have no better suggestion.

[Adrian Winchester]

Soaking seems a last resort in view of the effort involved, but people have sometimes soaked films in Film Renew. If you simply want to screen films at least once, I'd try applying a lubricant and seeing whether the leaders project OK.

I personally think there's zero risk of contamination to other films via a projector. I wouldn't do any special cleaning. It's a chemical reaction, not a disease. Considering there are plenty of cases of a VS film being on the same spool as another film that has not developed VS, I wouldn't worry about.

[Ed Slosky]

Thanks for the info!