Stuck dark slides

I've acquired 2 Lisco Regal 8x10 film holders both with firmly stuck dark slides & I'm thinking about the best approach for freeing them. They don't move at all & since they're all the way down, I can't open the light trap latches to push up from the bottom either.

My current ideas are:
a) soak them in very warm water for a while
b) apply alcohol along edges
c) squirt naptha in there

Does anyone have advice or warnings about this, or a better approach?

Plastic shrink more than wood in freezing temperatures.

Make sure you use some (candlebar?) wax on the edges and maybe trim them a little?

If the dark slide is stuck on the light baffles, maybe a disassemble is necessary, and new baffles?

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My main concern would be for the brushes at the top opening. so I would pour / soak from the the trap end up first sparing the top if possible, using hot water.
Alternately the tape at the trap end is not unlikely to be better off replaced and so I might use a scalpel to cut the tape at the trap end along the break. And replace with bookbinders tape afterwards.
It is possible there is film in there slide into the darkslide channel. That happened to me - solved with brute force, but I could see the emulsion sticking things up.
Replacing the tape is easy; never done the soaking so...

No wood in these, but once I do get the slides out I will definitely put some wax on the edges.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cowanw

My main concern would be for the brushes at the top opening. so I would pour / soak from the the trap end up first sparing the top if possible, using hot water.
Alternately the tape at the trap end is not unlikely to be better off replaced and so I might use a scalpel to cut the tape at the trap end along the break. And replace with bookbinders tape afterwards.
It is possible there is film in there slide into the darkslide channel. That happened to me - solved with brute force, but I could see the emulsion sticking things up.
Replacing the tape is easy; never done the soaking so...

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Thanks, yes, I was wondering about that. I think you're right, it's not such a big deal to replace the tape, I'll give that a shot.
These things are stuck fast, the previous owner pulled one of the aluminum handles right off in the process of trying to brute force it!

Before I tried any of these other solutions, I might try heating them up a bit with a hair dryer. It sounds less invasive than soaking them in water, etc.

Matt -- I was thinking along the same lines...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Matt Stage

Before I tried any of these other solutions, I might try heating them up a bit with a hair dryer. It sounds less invasive than soaking them in water, etc.

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Great idea - glad I asked!

freeze it.

While on holiday to Princeton to see a Clarence White exhibit, I used the hotel hair dryer to melt my moustache wax. American dryers are way hotter than Canadian ones and this one melted my plastic comb. YMMV
Please be sure to tell us how this evolves.