Did I try this? Yes, I did. Anything to stop the shedding. Did it work? NO. The print still shedded, but the flakes were big, smelly chunks of wax. I felt that I didn't put enough wax on when I was applying it, I barely even used half a teaspoon for a typical 6 reel film Kodak recommended a full teaspoon per side. The shedding even got much worse over time.

What do you all think of this method? I have never heard of prints being edgewaxed until then. Has anybody else ever tried this? I'll tell you this....... ain't NOTHIN' out there that beats FilmGuard (coming soon to a theatre near you).
 

His print he waxed got thrown off the platter 3 times in 2 days if I remember correctly and he said the shedding didn't help at all.

The solution, well not really a solution...it "tamed" the wax a little bit, was to pull the film back onto reels and hand clean it with Renovex.
 

SC Johnson Paste Wax is a mixture of hard waxes (paraffin and carnauba) in a fast-evaporating solvent. It was chosen because it is readily available, and does not contain oils or materials that will harm the film (e.g., mineral oil and WD-40 can actually leach the dyes out of color film). In the "good old days" of laboratories applying edgewax to all prints, paraffin was the wax of choice. It was dissolved in solvent, and applied to the edges and perf areas of the print with an applicator wheel.

Elsewhere on this site, I see testimonials for Brad's "FilmGuard" lubricant. Great! Kodak and SMPTE have always recommended proper lubrication of release prints --- if FilmGuard works, use it, as long as you are confident it won't harm the film or affect dye stability.
 

Kodak is working to develop methods of edge-waxing prints that don't require use of harmful or toxic solvents. One promising method is very simple. It involves the use of SC Johnson Paste Wax (800-558-5252), which is a mix of hard waxes with a fast-evaporating solvent forming a soft paste-like material. We have found that a very small amount (no more than one level teaspoon) of the paste wax uniformly buffed along the side-walls of the print as it lies on the platter will penetrate into the edge and perforation area of the print. When the solvent evaporates, a thin clear layer of the solid hard wax is left on the surface of the print, in the areas where it is most needed to reduce friction and abrasion. Running the print through the projector spreads out the wax into a uniform coating. Although there is nothing in SC Johnson Paste Wax that will harm the film, care should be taken not to put too much on, as excess wax will build up in the projector, and could be visible on the screen or affect the reading of the soundtracks. Remember that it's easier to apply a very small amount of wax and add more if needed later. Another note of caution is that the added wax will make the film roll more slippery, requiring the use of platter clips to keep the roll from sliding on the platter surface. Our tests show that proper edge-waxing will greatly reduce "dusting" and surface abrasion of prints. Edge-waxed prints should also run more quietly and smoothly through the projector, and perforation life will increase since the film will require less force to pull it through the gate By the way, a small amount of purple dust on the first few runs of a new print is normal. The dust is usually purple because the top imaging layer in the film is the magenta dye layer. Other than using PTR film cleaning rollers to clean the print during projection, no further action is usually needed, UNLESS there is obvious abrasion of the emulsion-side surface of the print.

On page 21, I wrote:

"If severe difficulties are found due to lack of print lubrication (unsteadiness, excessive noise, heavy powder buildup, obvious scuffing of the emulsion of the film between the perforations, etc.), the SC Johnson Paste Wax may be used as an "EMERGENCY" lubricant."

I also wrote:

"This method should only be used in an EMERGENCY, when the lubricated print performance is totally unsatisfactory. Excessive application of the paste wax may intrude into the picture area (seen as unevenness or mottle) or soundtrack area....Excessive wax may also build up on the gate, rollers, sound drum, or other projector components. Finally, too much wax may make the print so slippery that it tends to slide off the platter (be sure to use those suction clips to keep the roll in place), or slips on the sound drum, causing wow and flutter. Remember, a little wax goes a long way, and too much wax may cause problems."

If FilmGuard, Tomakote and other proprietary film treatments on the market can properly lubricate prints without other adverse effects, great! But edgewaxing by the laboratory has consistently been recommended by Kodak since 1922.

Kodak's processing manual (H-24.02, H-24.09) and SMPTE Recommended Practice RP151 specify that prints be properly lubricated for optimum performance. Unlubricated prints will work satisfactorily in most projectors, but may be much more prone to perforation wear, unsteadiness, abrasion and dusting issues in some projectors. Proper lubrication is even more vital now that digital sound information is printed along the highly-abraded edges and perforation area of prints (remember, Kodak's Cinema Digital Sound put the bits in the unabraded analog sound track area because of this known concern).

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John Pytlak
 

Oh yeah. FilmGuard is proven. There really aren't any "ifs" about it anymore.
 

For some additional background on Cinema Digital Sound (CDS), see Perry Sun's site:
http://www.moviesoundpage.com/msp_cds.htm

or the link provided by Steve Kraus:
http://www.members.aol.com/cds3570

My point was that CDS putting the bits in the analog soundtrack area was technically the right thing to do, since projectors were known to abrade the edges and perfs. Of course, unless you have 100% reliability in a digital system, lack of an analog backup can lead to cancelled shows. That was the "fatal flaw".

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John Pytlak

 

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John Pytlak

 

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John Pytlak