Static Elimination

[P3D <gosfield@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Someone mentioned the 'static gun' method of eliminating dust.  I use one 
of these, called a 'Zerostat'.  I'm not sure if they are still made, or 
if the Discwasher company distributes them.  But they work quite well on 
negatives, slides, and of course LP records (RIP). The gun uses a 
piezoelectric crystal and a small pneumatic cylinder to generate a stream 
of ions, by squeezing a handle.  In one direction, supposedly, positive 
ions are generated, in the other, negative ions.  I am not sure if this 
last is true, but in use you can see a difference in effect between the 
stream generated by the respective squeeze directions.

In darkroom work, i 'spray' a stream of ions generated by the gun onto a
negative, which removes the static charge from the surface, then i give it
a quick shot of Dustoff pressurized air.  I think this technique would 
work quite well for slides inserted into a viewer (spray into the film 
gate) or else spray the slides before insertion into the viewer.

Another useful cleaning accessory is the new 'microfiber' cloths, which 
have tiny fibers but no lint.  They are excellent at removing grease from 
lenses and other delicate surfaces, and i have even used them carefully 
to clean off slides (after first removing surface dust so it does not 
scratch the slide).

Another static removal technique is the use of carbon fiber brushes, 
originally made for LP cleaning, and (?still) sold by the Oracle company.  
The carbon fibers remove static and dust, since the brush is intended to 
be grounded through an attached wire.  I have not found this technique as 
successful as the Zerostat/Dustoff method.  

This is a smaller and 'uncharged' equivalent of the larger Zone VI brush
(which is actually a copy or perhaps a licensed continuation of the old
Kodak anti-static brush)

Has anyone yet mentioned the Staticmaster brush available through photo
and audio equipment suppliers suppliers?  It exists in several sizes of
brush width, each mounted next to a ?Polonium element which emits
(harmless) alpha particles.  The alpha particles create ions when they
interact with air, supplying a discharge path for static.  The elements 'run 
down' over time (via decay of the radiation source) but can be replaced. 

Finally, I have had much better luck storing slides in plastic (like the 
older Fuji) slide boxes than in cardboard boxes, although the officially 
'archival' boxes are probably much better in this respect.  i don't know 
for sure, since i haven't used them.

down with dust

ted
gosfield@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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