Photos stuck behind the glass: I have several photographs that have a unique problem. Many years before, some moisture had gotten trapped under the glass and "glued" the photograph...

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

I have several photographs that have a unique problem. Many years before, some moisture had gotten trapped under the glass and "glued" the photograph beneath it. I want to salvage these once in a lifetime photos. How do I "release" the photograph? Can you help me?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

The first thing to do is take pictures of the picture - without glare of dirt on the glass.

Some ideas -
Wrap it in newspaper and put it in the freezer for an hour or more. Remove it and unwrap it, and then gently start to lift one corner of the picture. You can also try heat and water. See the links below.

https://www.thriftyfun.com/tf42811579.tip.html
https://www.scanmyphotos.com/blog/2018/03/remove-photo-stuck-glass-ideas.html
https://www.smoothphotoscanning.com/remove-photographs-stuck-to-glass

As with most situations, prevention is the best cure -

Use archival quality photo safe mats – this will provide a barrier to humidity & add space between the photo and glass
Don’t put your photos in a spot where they will be exposed to direct sunlight (this also prevents color fading)
Try to put photos in frames on less humid days and make sure there is no water/moisture on the photo or inside of the picture frame as best as possible

Safe framing -
https://www.culturalheritage.org/

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Thanks for the advice how to proceed.
I appreciate your input.
Happy Photographing

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

jerryc41 wrote:

The first thing to do is take pictures of the pict... (show quote)

If you don't care for mats for your photos: There are special "spacers" available, they are hidden behind the frame edge and give enough space between glass and photo to prevent this sticking. (Available from a framer, or even from the framing department at Michael's).

Bigmike1 Loc: I am from Gaffney, S.C. but live in Utah.

Just a thought. How about placing the photo on a flat bed scanner and scanning it? Then you could save it to a flash drive and go print it at a photo shop. Just a thought.

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

I've gotten some great ideas how to save some special photos of my father who passed away. Thoughts and suggestions are always welcome.
Happy Photographing!

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

Not an unusual problem. We gave my MIL one of those carousel photo frame things for Christmas one year. She put pics of her greatgrandkids in them. 15 years later many were stuck to the glass. I had good luck scanning them on my scanner.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Scruples wrote:

I have several photographs that have a unique problem. Many years before, some moisture had gotten trapped under the glass and "glued" the photograph beneath it. I want to salvage these once in a lifetime photos. How do I "release" the photograph? Can you help me?

Scan them or use a Marco lens with polarizer filter and photograph them.

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

Heating the glass gently with something like a hair dryer may help with the release. Much like some adhesives.

Bill P

First and foremost, never Never NEVER frame photos, or any kind of fine art, in contact with glass. There are rules and conventions for archival framing that require all work to be reverssable, so things like dry mount and spray glue are out too.

Wet darkroom color and B&W prints can be soaked in a pan or water and removed. Suspect that inkjet prints would be another thing entirely.

aellman Loc: Boston MA

Scruples wrote:

I have several photographs that have a unique problem. Many years before, some moisture had gotten trapped under the glass and "glued" the photograph beneath it. I want to salvage these once in a lifetime photos. How do I "release" the photograph? Can you help me?

If you soak the glass in warm water, they will probably release. Squeegee off all the water from the prints and dry flat. >Alan

aellman Loc: Boston MA

Scruples wrote:

I have several photographs that have a unique problem. Many years before, some moisture had gotten trapped under the glass and "glued" the photograph beneath it. I want to salvage these once in a lifetime photos. How do I "release" the photograph? Can you help me?

If you soak the glass in warm water, they will probably release. Squeegee off all the water from the prints and dry flat. >Alan

sbohne

Soaking in water alone may do the trick. However add photo-flo to your water bath. Made by Kodak, it’s a high-grade high-quality soap that will help release the emulsion from the glass. I used this technique on dozen of stuck photographs brought to my studios over the years.

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Interesting suggestion. This PhotoFlo might just do the trick. As for archiving photographs, I have learned my lesson. Just something else to add to my skill set.
Thank you for the great advice!

aellman Loc: Boston MA

sbohne wrote:

Soaking in water alone may do the trick. However add photo-flo to your water bath. Made by Kodak, it’s a high-grade high-quality soap that will help release the emulsion from the glass. I used this technique on dozen of stuck photographs brought to my studios over the years.

Great idea. I used Photo-flo for years in the darkroom.