before I make copies of 60 year old 35mm slides -

Hello everybody!
 I know there are some of you  who have experience copying slides. I'll be copying them from a  branded lightbox with my old Nikon and a macro lens , then editing in Lightroom.
Is there a good way to clean them -beyond brushing them with a soft brush - before I make my copies?
I am fortunate that when I was a young man, I kept the slides from my elder family members, including a few rolls I forgot I took back then at a tender age.
Remarkably , most of the Ektacrome  slides have retained their good color. The off brand slide film offered by labs have turned a red /magenta hue that perhaps I can fix .
Thanks to the community for related advice.
  - Fred

F8AD wrote:

Hello everybody!
I know there are some of you who have experience copying slides. I'll be copying them from a branded lightbox with my old Nikon and a macro lens , then editing in Lightroom.
Is there a good way to clean them -beyond brushing them with a soft brush - before I make my copies?

Depending on how dirty they are, a rocket blower would be my first choice, then a brush.

If they were very dirty then maybe something like PEC-12 ( https://www.preservationequipment.com/Catalogue/Cleaning-Products/Cleaning-Agents/Photographic-Emulsion-Cleaner-PEC-12 )

Assuming by copying you mean digitising, then if you have lots of very dirty or scratched slides it may be more effective to use a scanner with IR cleaning (Digital ICE) - https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4567478#forum-post-65034341

I am fortunate that when I was a young man, I kept the slides from my elder family members, including a few rolls I forgot I took back then at a tender age.
Remarkably , most of the Ektacrome slides have retained their good color. The off brand slide film offered by labs have turned a red /magenta hue that perhaps I can fix .
Thanks to the community for related advice.
- Fred

F8AD wrote:

Hello everybody!
I know there are some of you who have experience copying slides. I'll be copying them from a branded lightbox with my old Nikon and a macro lens , then editing in Lightroom.
Is there a good way to clean them -beyond brushing them with a soft brush - before I make my copies?
I am fortunate that when I was a young man, I kept the slides from my elder family members, including a few rolls I forgot I took back then at a tender age.
Remarkably , most of the Ektacrome slides have retained their good color. The off brand slide film offered by labs have turned a red /magenta hue that perhaps I can fix .
Thanks to the community for related advice.
- Fred

I'd say.

• Blower for most dust. Resort to a soft synthetic brush for anything you are really troubled about, but mostly put up with baked on crud and doctor in post later on.
• Try to use a holder for the slides that holds them above the light box - that way you don't have to worry so much about dust on the surface of the lightbox as it can be thrown a long way out of focus.
• Make sure the sensor is square to the slide - you can do this by putting a small mirror on top of whatever is holding the slide so it is in the same plane and checking that the centre of the lens is showing up in the centre of the viewfinder - if it does, you are dead square.
• Shoot RAW in whatever mode gives you most bit depth, aim for f5.6-f8.0.
• Look out for stray reflections off the side of the slide facing you - try to eliminate all light other than what is coming from the lightbox. If you still have problems shoot the emulsion side of the slide and reverse in post.

Thank you, much appreciated!
PEC pads are on the way.

Thanks, Bob Janes .
This is /was already my methodology. I'm no  interest in using a scanner ,or investing in maintaining one. My 24MP Nikon is well suited. I may tether it to my laptop if that proves to speed up the process.
I culled some slides last night; I have yet to sort them chronologically. Found some images I took @ Smithsonian Air Museum and surrounding Washington D.C. in 1969,I was  15 years old.
Most all seem in good shape just viewed through a slide viewer, but the digitizing will reveal all the details.
  Amazing what good storage has done for 54 -62 year old Ektachrome. I've yet to research a method to correct the slides in LR or PS that have taken on a magenta /red cast through these years.
As a sidenote, reviewing these old slides brings to the forefront the fantastic intangibiles of photography. Looking through the images brings back many memories  ,events ,and places long forgotten -coupled with the present -day reality that I am the oldest living survivor of those pictured.