DON'T put them in a dry mount press. Put them in the bathroom sink and
soak them for an hour.

Then put them face-on to the mirror. If you have a roller or brayer,
roll the backs until the air bubbles are out.

Drain the sink.

When the photos are dry, they will pop off.

I've saw my grandfather do this a hundred times, and I've done it a few
myself.

Jim

On Mar 14, 2005, at 9:54 AM, Karl Wolz wrote:

> Good advice, John.  Whenever I get in a situation where I'm working on
> irreplaceable items, I call in the experts.
>
> However, if put on the spot, my advice would be to slightly moisten the
> emulsion side by spraying distilled water out of a trigger spray
> bottle,
> letting them sit for a few minutes for the emulsion to soften (if it's
> old, it has gotten brittle) and them reshape them in a dry mount press.
> You may be able to gain access to a dry mount press at a local college
> or such (they tend to be real pricey).
>
> Just pressure doesn't really do the job.
>
> Karl Wolz
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> Behalf Of
>> John Rodgers
>> Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 5:34 AM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: Re: ?Flattening Glossy Photos? - Absolutely NO Van Content.
>>
>> George Goff wrote:
>>
>>> I would like to beg the indulgence of all and the help of any
> resident
>>> photographers on the List.
>>>
>>> My Sweetheart has been sorting through the wartime (WW II) photos of
> her
>>> father.  The ones which were in an album are amazingly fresh looking,
> but the
>>> dozens of glossy, black and white snapshots which were stored in
> boxes have
>> curled
>>> severely.  Is there a good and proper way to flatten them?  I've
> weighted
>>> some of them with volumes of the Britannica, but after a couple of
> weeks they
>>> have not flattened very much.
>>>
>>> Also, is glassine of mylar the better envelope material for long tern
> photo
>>> storage?
>>>
>>> Thanks one and all,
>>> George
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> George,
>>
>> Check with a GOOD photo shop or a professional photographer. Also
> check
>> with your local or otherwise museum. Most museums have either on their
>> staff or are connected to professional restorers. They will have
>> information you can use.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> John Rodgers
>> 88 GL Driver
>