How To Clean and Restore Old Photos
Discover photo cleaning without harm and photo restoration to preserve your family's pictorial legacy for future generations.
Contents
Photographs are irreplaceable, physical pieces of the past that allow us to revisit fond memories. Sometimes, they are the only surviving visual links to a person long gone. As depressing as that particular concept is, it's reality. So, it's important to maintain the integrity of photos, and the only way to do that is by cleaning and properly storing them.
An old, but important photo of a family member.
How Do I Clean Photos?
Cleaning photos is not difficult at all, but the process requires patience. And! You will need expensive equipment! Just kidding… Seriously, the stuff required to clean photos you either already own or you can pick up at a local store for cheap.
WORD OF WARNING:
Cleaning an old photograph without knowing the process can lead to permanent damage that only photo restoration services can fix! If that sounds like a pain or a legitimate concern, my advice would be to go to the professionals at Forever Studios before you try cleaning photos on your own!
TOOLS
First and foremost, like any good project, the task requires certain tools.
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A clean and soft towel (time to shop the linen closet)
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A pair of white, lint-free cotton gloves (please get new ones; don't wear an old pair from Halloween)
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A soft brush with the most delicate, soft bristles or a white microfiber cloth
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A photo-cleaning spray
Get ready to clean your photo with the proper tools.
Follow the Instructions, PLEASE!
The photo cleaning process, when done correctly, is safe. That being said, don't go crazy scrubbing your photos. Even the softest brush can cause scratches, and no one wants that. Goodness, can you imagine, you're just scrubbing away, and all of a sudden, your aunt's face is gone.
TIME TO CLEAN!
Before you work on your photos, lay the towel on a flat surface and place the negatives on top. Then, put on the gloves. White gloves let you see when they become too dirty with dust that may transfer to the photos. Hold the photograph by the edges and use the brush or cloth to gently remove the dirt particles from the pictures. Start from the middle of the image and keep brushing outwards. If you have a compressed air can, blow away any fine dust particles from the surface.
Once you get down the process, its time to clean the collection!
ADHESIVE RESIDUE
After brushing off the dust, check the photo for any adhesive residue. Be extra gentle to get it off! I speak from personal experience. Depending on how much is stuck on the photo's surface, you will be tempted to scrub harder. Learn from my mistakes! I lost a baby photo of myself doing that, and my father was not happy.
STAINS
To remove stains, use a photo-cleaning solution. Read the instructions and make sure the solution is meant for photos. Do not use a lot of the solution; otherwise, it might damage the photo. Let the photo air dry, and voilà, your old photo cleaning process is done.
WHAT TO DO WHEN THINGS DON’T GO PERFECTLY
If there are stains or ingrained dust that won't go away, don't try to force the situation! If you went through the rather tedious process of cleaning your photos and some stuff didn’t come off, it’s ok! One of our professional graphic designers at Forever Studios can touch up a digital version of your photo to make it look brand new.
Detaching Photo From Glass
Old framed photos often get stuck to the glass, especially in frames with cheap, unmatted glass exposed to air moisture. It's annoying, but there are ways to unstick them. Whatever you do, don't rip them off like a bandaid! That's a good way to rip a photo or have a portion of an image adhered to the glass.
Ancestral photo behind glass. Be careful!
STEP 1:
Use deionized water (it has a low mineral level, so there is less chance of the image getting stained) to remove the photos. If you are dealing with an heirloom or something equally irreplaceable, dip a Q-tip in the water and rub it on a small corner of the photo. If the paper remains intact, slowly submerge the picture and roll it back and forth.
STEP 2:
After about half an hour, flip the photo over. You should notice air bubbles between the glass and the picture. Gently rub your fingers on the back of the paper to push out the air bubbles. Submerge it for another hour, and then use a little force to see if the glass releases on its own. If it doesn't, do not try to push harder or it might damage the photo even further!
Enjoy your family photo memories like never before.
STEP 3 (IF NEEDED):
Should parts of the image remain stuck to the glass, put the photograph back in the water and wait for another half an hour. You can use a razor blade to carefully push the photo away from the glass, but if there is any resistance, don't apply force. I feel a little bit like a broken record here, but I can't stress it enough, be bloody careful!
Now, this should be common sense, but just in case, here's another warning: do not use the razor near the image. I repeat: do not use the SHARP razor near the image.
STEP 4:
Once the photo has been removed from the glass, hang it to dry. To get it properly flat, apply pressure for at least 3 days or iron the photo over several layers of cloth.
Proper Photo Care
To prevent old photographs from suffering this unfortunate fate, my advice is to use mats the next time you frame them. It'll help. You can also use frames with glass that have no ripple effect on the surface, which can block UV rays. Also, dust your photo frames at least once every month! I hate dusting (seriously, it's the worst chore ever), but it does help keep photos in good, undamaged condition.
Master the smaller photos? Time to start removing frames from your wall!
ONE RATHER EMBARRASSING STORY
One more thing: keep kids away from precious photos or at least monitor them. Please don't laugh at me. When I was 8 years old, I wanted to make the frame of a pretty photo of my mom and myself smell nice. I sprayed perfume on it, and the photo turned black and white! Like I said, learn from my mistakes, folks.
Digitize Precious Photos
Before you start cleaning your photos, or if you don't want to deal with the task at all, may I suggest taking them to a photo restoration specialist at Forever Studios? They know how to safely restore your valuable mementos.
Ready to digitize it right the first time?
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