repairing holes in LF negs

[Lou Nargi]

Is there away to spot a hole in the emulsion of a LF neg?

[John Cook]

Spotone or soft artist pencil, sharpened to a needle point with sandpaper. Nucosine crystals probably are not around any more, nor Kodak Opaque. A red lithographer's marking pen will also work. Now that Spotone is apparently gone, you can substitute Marshall's Spot-All liquids.

The problem with all of these is that it isn't possible to enlarge retouching with your enlarger and have it remain invisible. Be prepared to overdo it a bit on the negative, making a whiter than wanted spot when projected, and then spot the retouched area back to normal on your finished print.

[David A. Goldfarb]

There is also a tool, like a needle (I suppose you could just use a needle) designed for this purpose. On the base side of the neg, with the tool perpendicular to the surface, you abrade the area of the film just over the pinhole, and this will diffuse the light coming through that area. You can do it on a retouching machine, or try with a lightbox and magnifier.

Obviously, experiment first on a scrap neg before trying with anything important.