This is topic Tice A Year Cleaning in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Richard Quesnelle (Member # 391) on 04-12-2000, 10:48 PM:
Well after reading some of the cleaning posts, I decided I would clean the projectors where I work so they stayed in good condition. The Century C's were hard to get at everything, but with a tooth brush, a rag,and some Windex (no alcohol on hand). The back area was the hardest to reach. When I told the manager that I had cleaned them he thanked me but it wasn't needed. He only cleans the projectors twice a year (strips it apart to get to the back), once in the spring and once in the fall.
Does this sound wierd, because to me from what I'm getting for the most part by everyone is that this is a big No NO.
REG
Posted by Bernie Anderson Jr (Member # 410) on 04-12-2000, 11:12 PM:
That's crazy. I'm on my projectionist to clean all the time. I actually set up a weekly schedule. 6 theatres: one a night and thursday off for prints. To help you get to the back, I use surgical clamps ( they look like scissors) and I put a cotton ball on the end of it and it gets in the corners really good.
Oh by the way, does this guy check the oil levels twice a year also?
Posted by Ken Layton (Member # 133) on 04-12-2000, 11:56 PM:
Projectors should be cleaned every day.
Posted by Dwayne Caldwell (Member # 417) on 04-13-2000, 12:26 AM:
And oiled at least one a week. I worked with a chief operator that forgot to oil one of our Century JJs, and I worked the night the intermittent decided to seize up. At first I thought it was a shutter timing problem because of the streaking, but before I could stop the film, it broke and there was about two or three feet of trailer wrapped around the intermittent sprocket. I took a closer look and the gear grooves on the vertical shaft that meets the intermittent were chewed all to hell. The intermittent was bone dry. Luckily, we we're a five screen playing four movies at the time and we moved the show to the empty auditorium. But it was a thirteen hundred dollar mistake that helped contribute to the chief operator's termination. Now I'm probably stating the obvious in stating the importance of well oiled projectors, but like I said, it was a thirteen hundred dollar mistake from a chief operator. ------------------
The man with the magic hands.
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 04-13-2000, 06:00 AM:
Twice a year?!?!! You really should clean the machines between every reel or platter-length of film. Once a day is probably OK _if_ you have only new prints that are in good condition. It seems to me, though, that it's well worth spending sixty seconds to clean the film path, particularly if this prevents a nasty scratch on the print!
Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 04-13-2000, 08:48 AM:
Twice a year! What do the machines look like? Doesn't he notice all the crap building up around the intermittent?Yeah, I also feel a short cleaning after every show is a "good thing." When you get into a routine, it takes very little time. Put a rag, toothbrush, etc. next to each projector so you don't have to carry that stuff around. Don't use harsh cleaners like "409" or "Fantastic." The enamel paint may turn a pink color! But also, alcohol is all you need.
A sort of problem with Centurys is the gear train is not in an oil bath like, say, a Simplex. This means a person has to get back there and manually apply grease (not oil) to the fiber gears. The main lower one is tough to get at, (and has a heavy load) so it doesn't always get as much as it should.
I also found that less oil gets out of the intermittent if you use that oil plug for the oil hole in the rear of the intermittent casting. Century sells a plug, but a pipe cleaner will work.
Posted by Richard Quesnelle (Member # 391) on 04-13-2000, 04:03 PM:
I must have been the only one to clean those projectors in months. We do clean the projectors after every show, but the crud build-up that was there! Oh my God. I imagine there's been worse, but you guys are right in keeping everyting as clean as possible as I will make sure of it from now on. Are there any extra tips on cleaning the back without striping the whole thing.
Thanks
Reg
Posted by Alan Brandt (Member # 426) on 04-13-2000, 05:53 PM:
As long as you use film-guard, you dont need to clean them periodically. You caould drag a print over a sand dune and it would be okay and even scratch it with a utility knife, but if you're using film-guard, the projector is maintenance free. Just thread and start. Let film-guard do the hard work. If it doesn't seem to be doing the trick...Use more. I've heard from people that it will even "mop the floor" with the addition of a special add-on kit, made possible by our friends at Kelmar. But if you really feel the need to clean every darn-tooting second like Henrietta Longtooth and Mr.Clean, then I suppose it wouldn't hurt it much, just don't overdo it.