Cleaning film prior to scanning

[Robert McGarry]

New to scanning movies. Not new to scanning film. I've been scanning negatives and slides for many years. I was always taught that film should be dry cleaned using a blast of air and a static free brush, or lint free pad. Wet cleaning using an emulsion cleaner like PEC-12 was reserved for films with some type of mold or substance that won't release from dry cleaning. 91% isopropyl alcohol can be used in absence of an emulsion cleaner like PEC-12.
However, I see many videos and post recommending wet cleaning all movie film prior to scanning. Most recommend isopropyl alcohol, some recommend other things, what is the best practice.

[Ed Gordon]

100% isopropyl alcohol is the most recommended. The next most popular (at least here) is Filmguard which is made by the host of this forum and the Filmtech forum. It is certainly more expensive than isopropyl alcohol, but since it has a long history of being used by professional film projectionists, it can be recommended without concern.

[Robert McGarry]

Thank you for the reply.

I did try a cleaning prior to scan using PEC-12. It did make a big difference. As far as cost it's way more expensive than either isopropyl or Filmguard. However, for the project at hand it should work without picking up too much water. If I was cleaning movie film daily, I can see where Filmguard would be a benefit. Isopropyl, though available at relative inexpensive pricing, would likely pick-up too much water if not used quickly, IMHO.