Old Photos 1: Does anyone know of a way to safely separate a photo that has become stuck to the glass in a photo frame? I have some photos that sat undisturbed in my father’s study for...

TMcL

Does anyone know of a way to safely separate a photo that has become stuck to the glass in a photo frame? I have some photos that sat undisturbed in my father’s study for at least 25 years, and over time have become stuck to the glass of the frame. I am looking to clean up and update the frame. Any ideas? Thanks.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Update the frame as in replace the frame?
Will the glass go into the new frame?

It will be interesting to see what is recommended for removing a stuck print from glass.

andiamo236

You might try water to release the photo. Those photos were processed and washed in water.
When the photo is removed you will need to dry the photo, if it has a glossy finish you will need to dry it with the glossy side toward a polished metal surface (perhaps a flat polished stainless steel cookie sheet) and apply gentle heat to the rear of the photo with a piece of linen or canvas on the back of the photo. There is always a chance the silver bromides may become separated from the paper backing.
Try wetting and drying another picture just to test this method.

TMcL

I thought about that, but only as a last resort. Without removing the photo, I would also be unable to clean the glass.

Edit: Apologies. This was in reply to Longshadow.

TMcL

andiamo236 wrote:

You might try water to release the photo. Those ph... (show quote)

This is a bit of a Hail Mary solution. If it fails, I’ve also lost the original!!

Quixdraw Loc: x

TMcL wrote:

Does anyone know of a way to safely separate a photo that has become stuck to the glass in a photo frame? I have some photos that sat undisturbed in my father’s study for at least 25 years, and over time have become stuck to the glass of the frame. I am looking to clean up and update the frame. Any ideas? Thanks.

Before you do anything else, gently clean the exterior glass and get the best digital shots you can of the photos in place! CYA!

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

TMcL wrote:

Does anyone know of a way to safely separate a photo that has become stuck to the glass in a photo frame? I have some photos that sat undisturbed in my father’s study for at least 25 years, and over time have become stuck to the glass of the frame. I am looking to clean up and update the frame. Any ideas? Thanks.

Kodak makes a product called Photoflow. Soak the print and glass in Photoflow and it will separate.

TMcL

PixelStan77 wrote:

Kodak makes a product called Photoflow. Soak the print and glass in Photoflow and it will separate.

Thanks. I will look into it.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

quixdraw wrote:

Before you do anything else, gently clean the exterior glass and get the best digital shots you can of the photos in place! CYA!

Great idea.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

TMcL wrote:

I thought about that, but only as a last resort. Without removing the photo, I would also be unable to clean the glass.

Edit: Apologies. This was in reply to Longshadow.

Why would one need to clean the side of the glass where the photo was?
Not like dust got in there. Or are you referring to the optical anomaly where the photo stuck?

krl48 Loc: NY, PA now SC

PixelStan has the answer!

Jeff Bezos' company lists it as Kodak Photo-Flo-200 Solution, and one of the reviews mentions using it successfully to remove photos stuck to glass.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

krl48 wrote:

PixelStan has the answer!

Jeff Bexzs' company lists it as Kodak Photo-Flo-200 Solution, and one of the reviews mentions using it successfully to remove photos stuck to glass.

Good to know!

User ID

TMcL wrote:

Does anyone know of a way to safely separate a photo that has become stuck to the glass in a photo frame? I have some photos that sat undisturbed in my father’s study for at least 25 years, and over time have become stuck to the glass of the frame. I am looking to clean up and update the frame. Any ideas? Thanks.

Is any of the emulsion separated from the substrate and is now transferred onto the glass ? There’s no physically safe fix for that. Do not disassemble it. Copy it as-is and then clean up the copy.

If the emulsion is still adhered to the substrate and the intact print is sticking to the glass you might “steam it off” same as steaming open a letter. There is still some risk, so you still copy it as-is before proceeding. Even if you separate it successfully it may look crappy, but now you can scan it and use that file to create a cleaned up new version.

User ID

PixelStan77 wrote:

Kodak makes a product called Photoflow. Soak the print and glass in Photoflow and it will separate.

The photo may well separate from the substrate as well as from the glass. IOW look before you leap.

Acoarst you’ll be copying it before doing anything. If the front lit copy looks awful you can add some trans light if the back side has nothing written on it. It’s more work to add that but only you can set a value on the image you’re restoring and only you can set the standard for the appearance of the finished result.

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

quixdraw wrote:

Before you do anything else, gently clean the exterior glass and get the best digital shots you can of the photos in place! CYA!

Yes!!!!