[BradJudy]

I'm looking for recommendations for cleaning older negatives in preparation for scanning them.  These are mostly 35mm, but some are medium form factor types. 

I have canned air for dust, but some have fingerprints or smudges. 

Is one of these a good option? 

http://www.adorama.com/CHPEC12.html

http://www.adorama.com/CHEAS4.html

I also figured I would put them into better storage afterward and I'm looking at these sheets for storage: http://www.adorama.com/FSPF357B25.html

[nathanm]

Canned air isn't the greatest idea as there is the risk of the propellant spraying on the film.  A rocket air blower or fine brush is preferable.  We always had these StaticMaster brushes around, although for the price I sure as hell wouldn't buy one myself.  Sheesh!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/50556-REG/Staticmaster_ST3C500_StaticMaster_Brush_for_Film.html#reviews

I can't remember the name of the film cleaner I used off hand, but it is good stuff - highly flammable, shipping restrictions, and dries your fingertips instantly on contact.  Get yourself some lint-free wipes to apply it, such as Kim Wipes or similar.  The sheets are a good choice for storage.

Film cleaner will get all the grime off the film, but if there are fungus spots you're kind of screwed.  I am not sure what you can do, if anything, for that.

[BradJudy]

Thanks for the tips Nathan.  Wow, that's a pricey brush, I think I'll look for something a bit more reasonable. 

Static Master brushes (perhaps different models) appear to be a lot cheaper at Adorama, so I might get one of these:

http://www.adorama.com/CPSMB3.html

http://www.adorama.com/CPSMB1.html

Give that they "expire" in 2-3 years (aka have half-life), I don't want to spend too much, but $27 is reasonable since I'd only need 1" wide for most of my negatives anyway. 

My wife used to work in the research optics industry (now a professor), so I've got plenty of guidance on the use of Kimwipes and the cleaning of glass.  (If you think camera lenses get expensive, you should see the super-specialized tiny pieces of glass/etc that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.)  I expect the chemicals she used for that are not appropriate for film, so I wanted to see what chemicals are recommended. 

[Photon46]

I've used both the PEC-12 & the Edwal you provide links to, they both work fine. Just be sure to remove all grit that can scratch the film before applying pressure to chemically clean. Fingerprints that have remained on film a long time can etch the film permanently, might never come off. Fungus is there for good in my experience, never found anything to remove it. Some people seem to have more corrosive sweat than others. It's shame Kostiner doesn't make their anti-static brush anymore, that is my favorite. Never needed new Polonium cartridges every two years like the Staticmasters do. The Kinetronics brand that Adorama sells works pretty well and costs even less, doesn't need Polonium cartridges either. Anyway you do it, plan on spending time dust busting with a healing brush in Photoshop.

[nathanm]

That must be a misprint on the B&H site I'd assume.  At least I hope so!

The film cleaners I use are:

L12 antistatic screen\film cleaner by Policrom Screens
#7065 Film Kleen anti-static film cleaner by Anchor

I usually use the Anchor stuff, but I recall that the L12 was recommended for removing the anti-Newton spray that I used to use on 4x5s.  If your film doesn't touch glass you won't have that problem anyway.

The only way to really knock out dust is to oil mount, but that's adding time to the process as well.  Assuming your scanner allows for this.  Mine does, but as of yet I haven't felt ambitious enough to try it.  I probably should.

[thunderbrick]

Canned air isn't the greatest idea as there is the risk of the propellant spraying on the film.  A rocket air blower or fine brush is preferable.  We always had these StaticMaster brushes around, although for the price I sure as hell wouldn't buy one myself.  Sheesh!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/50556-REG/Staticmaster_ST3C500_StaticMaster_Brush_for_Film.html#reviews

That price may reflect the fact that the staticmaster brushes USED to have a radioactive piece of material in them, and some people were worried about it.  Not sure if they still do.
When I worked in a photo shop they were about $20, which we thought at the time was pricey.  The actual price is probably $10, with the other $135 going to liability protection.

My experience is that is you have fungus on film you ARE screwed.  I have been shooting for nearly 40 years, and the roll on which my best EVER shot was on got fungus.  I had it scanned before it got to bad, but................