Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Booth and Projector Cleaning

This is topic Booth and Projector Cleaning in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Zack Strickland (Member # 5503) on 03-07-2010, 07:07 PM:

In the booth where i work, we really don't have any kind of regimen for cleaning projectors, portholes and platter systems. I am posting to consult the film-tech knowledge base of gurus as to how to implement healthy booth cleaning procedures. If anyone knowledgeable could please reply with directions on how to clean and what your theater's booth does and how often and how are your projectionists kept accountable for their duty's. Also, if anyone knows where to look, like a manual, guidebook, or training guide, or another post or thread, that would be great too. Thanks.

Here are some pictures of our setup:

We have 12 35mm Projectors Setups:

our platters:

Projector up close shot:

Another:

Projector, Lamphouse, and Automation Board

And 2 Digital Setups:
Digi Projector:

Show Store (digital projection computer):

Posted by Michael Voiland (Member # 5386) on 03-07-2010, 07:18 PM:

Projector cleaning is done daily at my theater. We have a check sheet for closers. So each day all projectors are cleaned and shut down at the end of the night. So tooth brush / rags / qtips are used to clean the machines.
Platters are cleaned with iso alcohol once a week
All lenses scope and flat are cleaned weekly
We do a deep cleaning of the projectors making sure to get the tops sides and inside where lots of dirt accumulates weekly
Portholes are cleaned with windex / ecolabs glass cleaner
We sweep once a week and mop once a week.
Other jobs are assigned as needed on a task board.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 03-07-2010, 08:02 PM:

quote: Michael Voiland
Platters are cleaned with iso alcohol once a week

You can also use a bucket of hot water and a couple of rags on the decks - one to wash and the other to dry.

Using water leaves no residue and is non-flammable.

-Monte

Posted by Manny Montes (Member # 5639) on 03-07-2010, 08:18 PM:

We clean our projectors by dusting them out first with a paintbrush, then clean inbetween the sprockets with a toothbrush sprayed with film guard. We clean the platters with simple green and a rag.

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 03-07-2010, 09:14 PM:

Actually, from your pictures your machines look pretty clean!

I clean mine daily before opening, or sometimes at closing
if I've got some time to kill before my bus ride home comes.

I try to clean the platters once a week but sometimes it's
every other week if I've been busy with other things.

Booths get swept or vacuumed (depending on the which booth-
they have different floor surfaces) once a week.

For awhile, I had been using 'shop towels' from a local
hardware store to wipe things down, but they left too many
threads & lint behind.

I found I can get cheap, slightly irregular, white
kitchen dish towels here in San Francisco's Chinatown that
work just fine for projector-wiping and they don't shed lint.

I also bought a wholebuncha cheap tooth and paint brushes
there too. They're not the best quality. I really don't
think they'd work well for brushing teeth or painting,
but they're GREAT for cleaning projectors & platters!

And they were inexpensive!

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 03-08-2010, 12:07 AM:

quote: Manny Montes
We clean the platters with simple green and a rag.

I bet a wooden nickel for a "McD's" Whopper that if you washed the decks with just hot water, that water bucket will be full of suds due to the soap residue that is being left behind on the decks.

quote:
I also bought a wholebuncha cheap tooth brushes...

What's great about tooth brushes, is that you cut down the bristles to where they are more firmer, soak the brush in FG and this really does wonders on cleaning all of the sprockets. Even using FG on a rag to wipe out the trap and gate area does wonders as well.

-Monte

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-08-2010, 12:28 AM:

If you apply Filmguard to your film cleaning pads, you'll need to clean out your projectors much less... if used properly.

Posted by Joe Elliott (Member # 4006) on 03-08-2010, 12:45 PM:

quote: Monte L Fullmer
What's great about tooth brushes, is that you cut down the bristles to where they are more firmer, soak the brush in FG and this really does wonders on cleaning all of the sprockets.

My major problem with the cleaning my guys do is the filmguard they get on the lens turrets when they clean the sprockets. I had not thought about cutting down the toothbrush bristles, but I can see how that would help with the cleaning, and solve the filmguard being flicked off the bristles.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 03-08-2010, 01:40 PM:

quote: Joe Elliott
filmguard they get on the lens turrets when they clean the sprockets

....have them cover the turrets with a large rag or towel, or open the turret then cover it....