Axelwik
27-Oct-2018, 08:14
Maybe someone here has some good advice.
I have on hand some prints by a famous local photographer in need of some kind of restoration. They're not sellable as they are due to yellowing along the edges where it appears that they were in contact with a window mat which may have caused the discoloration - maybe acid damage?
The photographer, now in his 90s and no longer prints himself, unfortunately did most of his later printing on RC paper when it became available and thought it was the cat's meow. Easy to print etc. I don't know if using RC paper had anything to do with this, but it probably didn't help.
These were probably printed within the last 20 or 30 years.
The prints aren't worth much as they are and I've been told that I can experiment with them as needed. I'll start with one - probably the least valuable to collectors, and try one thing first.
Here's what I'd like to try: Immerse the print in a tray with a weak solution of Photo-Flow and gently massage the discoloration to see if it has any effect, and then re-wash.
If that doesn't work, do you think I should try re-fixing, hypo clearing, and then washing?
If all that fails I have the option to trim away the damaged areas. If I do that I'd like to stabilize the prints - maybe with light selenium toning, but not enough to change the color.
Here are some photos of the damage. I'm open to suggestions.
https://i.imgur.com/du0eBrD.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/mtLKGr7.jpg
I have on hand some prints by a famous local photographer in need of some kind of restoration. They're not sellable as they are due to yellowing along the edges where it appears that they were in contact with a window mat which may have caused the discoloration - maybe acid damage?
The photographer, now in his 90s and no longer prints himself, unfortunately did most of his later printing on RC paper when it became available and thought it was the cat's meow. Easy to print etc. I don't know if using RC paper had anything to do with this, but it probably didn't help.
These were probably printed within the last 20 or 30 years.
The prints aren't worth much as they are and I've been told that I can experiment with them as needed. I'll start with one - probably the least valuable to collectors, and try one thing first.
Here's what I'd like to try: Immerse the print in a tray with a weak solution of Photo-Flow and gently massage the discoloration to see if it has any effect, and then re-wash.
If that doesn't work, do you think I should try re-fixing, hypo clearing, and then washing?
If all that fails I have the option to trim away the damaged areas. If I do that I'd like to stabilize the prints - maybe with light selenium toning, but not enough to change the color.
Here are some photos of the damage. I'm open to suggestions.
https://i.imgur.com/du0eBrD.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/mtLKGr7.jpg