Over the years, stored slides can develop dust and grime. This makes scanning the slides less then ideal. Sometimes a quick spray of compressed air will work to clean the slides or sometimes you need to go a little further in order to get the grime off.
Instructions
1. Start buy spraying the dirty slide with compressed air to remove all of the obvious dust and hairs.
2. Gently dust the slide on both sides with an anti-static brush. This can be purchased at any camera store.
3. Inspect the slides. You may not need to go any further. If you still notice that there are smudges, you may need to use a photographic emulsion cleaner such as PEC-12. Take the slides into a well ventilated area.
4. Pour some of the photographic emulsion cleaner on a lint free photo wipe. Gently wipe the non-emulsion side first.
5. If the slide is still dirty, flip it over and gently wipe the emulsion side. Be careful not to rub too hard or you will damage the emulsion and ruin the slide forever.
6. Allow the slide to dry and repeat on the rest of your slides.
