I'm using a medium format capable enlarger for my 35mm B&W printing. It is quite old and has a lot of dust all over. My prints are coming out with hairs and dust particle images on them now. What is the most effective way of cleaning the delicate glass surfaces, etc. There is dust all through the focusing bellows. I tried to give it a clean , but to no avail.....

-- Justin McMaster (justinmcm@hotmail.com), May 25, 1998

Answers

First off, don't clean it in your darkroom. Take it outside or to your garage, anywhere but in the darkroom. I have used house hold glass cleaners, the mild ones, Windex, Sparkle etc. on the condensors and glass plates in the negative carrier. For the lens I would use a regular lens cleaner and lens cleaning cloths Dry everything completly and use a cloth that doesn't have any lint in it. For the body and bellows of the enlarger I would use a lighty, very lightly, damp cloth and some compressed air. Use the compressed air at a distance from the bellows, inside and out, and don't blow the bellows apart with to much pressure. Blow the surfaces off first, and then use the lightly damp cloth. A soft bristle brush, one that doesn't lose a lot of bristles, will also help.

Once you detail the enlarger, the darkroom comes next. Don't clean your darkroom to often. I know this sounds stupid, but the less dust you raise in the darkroom, the cleaner your negatives and prints will be. A little dust on things, that is not disturbed, isn't going to leap on to your negatives. I give my darkroom a complete detail once a year or so and touch it up in between, just the easily visible and reachable areas.

-- Marv Thompson (mthompson@clinton.net), May 25, 1998.

I agree with Marv, and would just add that (light) dust marks on the print must come from dust from dust on either the negative or the grass carrier. Ideally, remove the glass from the carrier. Before inserting the negative, brush it, and check it for dust. Do the same for any glass in the carrier.

-- Alan Gibson (gibson.al@mail.de.com), May 26, 1998.

Dust in Enlarger

Whenever I thoroughly clean my enlarger - I do it out in the open, on a sunny day so that I can check every nook and cranny. Before I take it indoors I use an anti-static gun (pietzo crystal) all over. Then I cover the entire enlarging head and lamp assembly with an air tight plastic bag. I only take the bag off before I start enlarging and return it when finished. I assume you have cleaned all the glass surfaces with methylated spirit.

-- Anthony Brookes (gdz00@dial.pipex.com), June 28, 1998.

I recently had problems with enlargment quality caused by grit --inside-- the enlarger lens. Perhaps you should check the inner surfaces of your lens too. The grit evidently came from the paint on the diaphragm getting loose when changing the fstops (the enlarger lens is a top brand, but has been out of use for years). It was almost impossible to see the grit looking throught the enlarger lens, the only way to see it was to use a magnifying glass so that I could focus on the inner lens surfaces. The repair is nothing for DIY, the cleaning bill is $ 150, and it was really a necessary expense.

-- chris almqvist (chris@propellerheads.org), May 30, 1998.