Using FG media pads

[Neal Scanlan]

At present I run the media pads with FG beginning to end. I know these can be rewound but do you turn them over on the rewind so that the side at the beginning is now the ‘clean side’ or run the same side more than once?

Any advice is much appreciated

[Steve Guttag]

You just rewind them and reuse for a week. This presumes that you applied FG on the first pass. If running dry then they are use-once. The key to film-guard is to apply it on the first pass and you clean on subsequent passes. After a week, you repeat. Now for collectors, that is a different story. Maybe Brad will chime in.

[Randy Stankey]

Get an empty core with a keyed end, hot glue it onto the end of a wooden dowel then chuck the whole assembly into a battery operated screw gun. At the end of your show, use the screw gun to rewind the media back to the start.

Film-Tech media pads are long enough to last for two average length movies. You can use the first half of a roll for one movie. Then, when you change movies, cut the gauze and remove the dirty section. Reattach the clean end of the unused media to the takeup core... Wash, rinse repeat.

EDIT:

Don't use tape to attach the saturated media to the cores. Film-Guard will dissolve the adhesive and you'll be left with a big mess.

Take an extra, used, empty core and cut a lengthwise segment out of it so that it will snap onto the takeup core. When you have it cut to the right shape, cut it in half, crosswise. You'll have two clips that you can use to hold the wet media onto the takeup core.

[Ryan Gallagher]

So does a single media pad typically get you through 4 features, two for each side of the media? Is it trash after that?

have never used them so curious what the costs were on the expendable side.

[Randy Stankey]

I never flipped and reused them. Dirt is dirt, IMO. It doesn't matter which side of the pad it's on. Don't forget, the dirty side of the pad will be wound against the clean side of the next winding, anyhow. Why put that dirt back onto another, presumably clean, print when you don't have to? Just use a new roll... comparatively cheap vs. the cost of a new print.

[Ryan Gallagher]

I never flipped and reused them. Dirt is dirt, IMO. It doesn't matter which side of the pad it's on. Don't forget, the dirty side of the pad will be wound against the clean side of the next winding, anyhow. Why put that dirt back onto another, presumably clean, print when you don't have to? Just use a new roll... comparatively cheap vs. the cost of a new print.

That is a good point about the clean touching the dirty upon winding. So just once through then.

[Chris Wehrman]

When running old prints, I recommend never reusing media pads in today's environment. As Randy stated they are reasonably cheap. Only if you have a lab fresh print and run the cleaner with FG on every run would I remotely consider reusing the media. Even then, probably not.