P3D repairing vintage slides

[Michael Kaplan <view@xxxxxxxx>]

I recently had this dilemna related to vintage (1952) Kodachromes that
View*Productions will be using in its next Frank Lloyd Wright packet
(no, it won't be available for Christmas).

The red tape was crumbling, the film chips were covered with spots, and
- worse - the glass had developed micro-crazing that was visible in a
good viewer.

We decided to remove the slides from the glass and remount them in RBT
mounts (thanks, Jon). When I removed them I noticed the film chips had
stubborn debris and some fungus. Having, in the past, unsuccessfully
used film cleaner on Kodachrome, I decided to bathe the film chips in
Photo-Flo and gently rub the surface to remove the debris. This
procedure worked well. Finally, I hung the chips up individually to dry.

We've seen the View-Master test reels and the results look very good. We
now hope (and pray) that View-Master will do a reasonable job
manufacturing the reels.

N.B. As an archivist, I would keep several of the slides in their
original mounts (with cracked red tape and all) as a remnant of 20th
century technology.