Edwal Anti-Stat Film Cleaner, for Black & White and Color Films, 4 Oz. Bottle

Here we are in the digital age, but I found myself with Kodachrome and Ektachrome slides from the 70s stretching back to the 50s. These little family treasures had mildew scattered about and scanning through them wasn't working. So I found myself digging Amazon for an age-old product from my high school darkroom days - Edwal's. Guess what? Still as great as ever at getting film clean without spotting and it was amazing and getting off the mildew and 30+ year old spots. There are many reviews/online comments about the smell and ventilation and I'm sensitive to smells but I have no issues with this product. Maybe I'm just used to it and it has a lasting/familiar imprint in my brain from 20+ years ago! It doesn't take much to get the job done with PEC-PAD Lint Free Wipes 4"x4" 100per/Pkg .

Okay, here is the real review after I dunned Adorama for sending me a glass bottle in a plastic bag. The replacement came from Mel Pierce Camera in Los Angeles and was properly packed in a box. This cleaner is a combination of isopropyl alcohol and modern dry cleaning fluid. You definitely need ventilation to work with it and keep it off your skin! I throw away the used cleaning pads in another room to keep the fumes down. But I still feel a bit lightheaded after cleaning a 50-foot reel. It works fine to remove ordinary grime. It also takes off the yellow processing residue sometimes found on Kodachrome. (At least I hope it's residue, as someone once claimed, and not dye!) But it won't remove really nasty gunk, like 60-year-old splicing glue. For that you need expert conservation.

Comment regarding packaging: This vendor, eBasement, are very much amateurs. They covered the bottle directly with packing tape, apparently to prevent leaking during shipment. This tape is very aggressive and cannot be removed from the bottle without ruining the label. I am sure the stuff inside is fine, but this vendor's cheap shortcuts really irritated me. They could have taken more time and protected just the cap without permanently impacting the bottle and label. Unfortunately, the day I purchased, Andora did not have the item available or available for immediate shipment via Amazon Prime, so I ordered here instead.

I bought a 4 oz bottle of this, but after reading the warning label, will send it back. Carcinogenic, need gloves or apparently can cause skin irritation, fumes - and it doesn't tell you what any of the "trade secret" toxic ingredients are. You're also warned not to dispose of it because it's harmful to aquatic life. Seems the only safe thing is to keep the bottle sealed. I think alcohol will be a much safer alternative.

I ruined several 1950's 3x3 film negatives that I wanted to clean prior to sending them out to be scanned and printed. Unfortunately several negatives had difficult-to-remove stains; it seemed that using a little too much on a clean cloth left rub marks that couldn't be removed. It made the negatives worse than what they were. I ended up cleaning the rest of the negatives with warm water and a little mild soap which did a far superior cleaning job. Use this product with great care!

I used this to clean the rust, mold and dust off of 50-year-old 8mm film reels, and I have nothing bad to say about it! It cleaned the film well, didn't hurt the emulsion, and dried quickly so that I could motorizing my cleaning. I cleaned two 7-inch (400-foot) 8mm reels twice with this bottle before it ran out, so if you're only needing one cleaning, you can expect to get around 1600 feet of cleaning for 8mm reels. And when it says ventilate well, it means VENTILATE WELL! I started to get a little nauseated before I listened to the tag, and won't make that mistake again.

I have years of movie film to clean and transfer with my newly upgraded Elmo transfer projector. Digging through my old supplies, I only had a little Kodak film cleaner left. I found and ordered the Edwal film cleaner. It works perfect, exactly like the old Kodak film cleaner. Since the old Kodak film cleaner is no longer available, I'm really glad I found Edwal. Easy to use. Just use lint free wipes, one way with the film cleaner and back again with a dry wipe.

If you have old 8mm or Super 8 movies that you want to convert to digital using a projector and a camcorder; then you definitely want to use a cleaner/lubricant on the film. Otherwise the old, dry, brittle film running through the projector will surely get irreversibly damaged with very visible scratches and possible breaks. Also years of accumulated dirt and lint will show up on your videos as well. (I found out the hard way.) This product is well worth the price and will help preserve your film.