i have a old black & white photograph which is mouldy and damp, how do i restore it?

Question

The photograph is an old family portrait which was hanging on a wall I didn't know was damp. When I looked at it after returning from holiday, it's covered in green spots of mould. It's dry now, and most of the image is visible, but how would I go about removing the mould or restoring the image? Is there anything I should avoid doing? Can anyone recommend a good photograph restorer who has done the same? Thanks!

Answer 1

you have some dumb advice on this site already, firstly if it is dry, then do not dampen the thing again.

photographs are made of silver halides on ph neutral paper. but the silver is held within a layer of gelatin, and thus they should be stored in a PH neutral environment. acid will turn the paper yellow, alkaline will attack the gelatin.

water will swell up the gelatin, and cause the image to lift off the paper, epically since mould has attacked the surface.

i have not restored photos for twenty years now, but there are a few people whom you can contact for good advice.

the centre for photographic conservation, forest hill in London, is a good start. they will be able to put you onto a local conservator whom has training

http://www.cpc.moor.dial.pipex.com/

likewise you can find a conservator through the conservation register, here is a link to their page on photographic care, it has a link to find conservators, as well as material suppliers.

http://www.conservationregister.com/carephotographs.asp?id=4

best of luck

Answer 2

Do not wash, this would only peel part of the image. Take a high resolution photo of it avoiding reflected silver oxidation. Take it
to Adobe Photoshop, as mentioned above and restore from there.
Keep the original reproduction, you may make mistakes and wish
to start all over again. When finished, add a slight sepia toning
to give it an old look. Sorry about the restorers, because this is
what I do for a hobby. restoring which has already been badly
restored, most are in a hurry and charge a high price. I charge
nothing, no matter how bad the original state, it can be torn have
missing pieces, faint image, distorted colours. You see, this is my
hobby and it keeps me busy. I have a iMac Tiger which cam do it
all. Obviously, with missing pieces you must know how to draw
with a mouse and this will take a little practice, and a lot of guessing. Good luck, and try it yourself. After a little while you
will find it to be fun as a hobby or profession.

Answer 3

Hi,

As long as the damage is not across the faces in the picture, it should be simple to restore.

I run a photo agency and photo restoration service. We never alter the original picture, but work on high resolution copies. You can either send a top quality digital photo of you picture or send the photo and we will create a digital version.

We then set about repairing tears or creases and removing dirt marks etc in the digital image, and once this work is done we have a real photographic print made (not an ink-jet print)

The end result is a fully restored copy of your original, with the original image untouched.


Paul
[e-mail]

Answer 4

One way is to use the scan and Photoshop editing method as suggested by several others.
Another way is to take photo of the original using black and white film and a green filter over the camera lens; this will lighten the appearance of the green mould - if it is still green. Print on black and white photo paper.
You may have to go to old photographer to get this done.
Old technology to the rescue.

Answer 5

I can't advise on the physical "rescue" of the original, but I would advise taking an fairly high-resolution scan (you can always make lower-resolution copies from this) beforehand - just in case. What I can say is that I have had quite remarkable results scanning old photos and then "Photoshopping" out all the creases and blemishes. The resulting inkjet-printed photo' will fade, so I always put a couple of copies of the file on a CD-R in a plastic wallet on the back of the picture, so I can always reprint a "new copy".

Answer 6

If you want to use photo restoring software go and download the free trial of Adobe Photoshop from www.adobe.com.
I restored a 90year old photograph of my great grandmothers wedding day last month and I Photoshop and it's turned out brilliant and it was easy to use!

Answer 7

Place it in a tub of drain cleaner.Let it sit for ten minutes, then kick yourself in the *ss for listening to anyone on Yahoo Answers! Run, don't walk to your local camera store and ask someone, that you can get your hands around their neck if the you give you bad information, what to do. After they give you their opinion, try calling your local museum or art co-operative and ask them also BEFORE doing anything!
You have an irreplaceable family heirloom treat it with the respect due it..

Answer 8

Put it between sheets of blotting paper (don't use newspaper!), then apply a book on top.
Change the paper until the picture is dry, then let it finally dry out completely in a warm airy place (placed on a flat surface)

Answer 9

I'm not sure you can restore it completely, even at great cost. You may be able to have it reproduced much cheaper, and then have the original stored in a sealed environmental free bag so it doesn't degrade any more.

Answer 10

okay this may work.

when i used to have my own dark room and do all my own printing.
now and again i used to get some photo dry and stick toether and the way to cure this was to soak them in clean slightly warm water and allow time to separate them, also this same method is used if they become dirty. using a clean cloth gently rub the photo where it's mouldy and once clean hang it near a radiator to dry and then reframe it.
this may work but you may also want to take to a profesional to have to restored.