# Sticky Pictures **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 26, 2000, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticky-pictures/6583 "2000-01-26T05:52:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Sassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sassy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticky-pictures/6583/1 "2000-01-26T05:52:00Z")
Get your mind out of the gutter! In fact, these are important photos that have become stuck to one another. They were stored in a plastic bag, and now we can’t separate them. We tried freezing them, which broke the group into smaller clumps, but they are still mostly unusable - and it would be difficult, if not impossible to replace these. Any suggestions for detaching the photos without damaging the image would be greatly appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Jois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jois)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticky-pictures/6583/2 "2000-01-26T06:16:00Z")
As long as these are just pictures from the local drug store - you might try: 1. Taking the smallest clump to a small studio and asking what they would do and for how much 2. Soaking the smallest clump in plain warm water Regular old pictures were developed in water based solutions and then dried on a shiney surface - after you soak the pictures to get them apart, pat them dry and leave them flat to dry. Your “new” pictures will have a matte surface. If you want the shiney surface back–it is hard to find something shiney and flat enough to get the gloss back. You could either get used to the matte finish or spray a little water on the surface of the photo and stick it (squeegie it-get all the air out from underneath it) on the cleanest window in your house. Let it dry and pop it off. Try it one a couple of pictures you hate first! * * * Oh, I’m gonna keep using these #%@&\* codes 'til I get 'em right. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticky-pictures/6583/3 "2000-01-26T06:22:00Z")
Refreeze the smaller clumps again. Go for an even colder freezer, if you can. Repeat several times. That can get you some of your pictures, perhaps all. The first moments that you remove the pictures is the best. I would recommend baggies, too, to keep the photos dry, in the freezer. ## You might buy a bag of Silica Gel, as well, and pack them in that for a while. That will dry the pictures out more. Then freeze 'em again, while you re-dry the gel. **\

Tris\** When angry, count four; when very angry, swear. – **Mark Twain** ---

**Author:** ![royalbill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@royalbill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/royalbill)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticky-pictures/6583/4 "2000-01-26T07:07:00Z")
I have worked in Photolabs for the last 10 years. I would recomend the warm water idea. The last step of developing them normally is a water bath…should not hurt them. * * * Heaven…One to beam up! ---
**Author:** ![Jois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jois)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticky-pictures/6583/5 "2000-01-26T07:11:00Z")
Royalbill, what would you do to get the gloss back? What household available item would be better than glass? * * * Oh, I’m gonna keep using these #%@&\* codes 'til I get 'em right. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticky-pictures/6583/6 "2000-01-26T08:32:00Z")
Once you get them apart with the warm water, you can take the photos and get duplicates made if you really want a shiney finish to them. Most photo places actually just have do-it-yourself photo duplicating centers that are basically really good scanners that print onto photo paper. The copies I’ve had made there looked as good as the originals. * * * “I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.” ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticky-pictures/6583/7 "2000-01-27T06:23:00Z")
Water should be alright, test some first. You don’t want that gel to soften too much. If you got some of those old photo books with so called, magnetic pages, which have magnetized your photos with the strength of a 20 mule team, youll have to get a tiny tiny spatula and work them from the backing paper. Photo shops have the spatula, about $2.00 ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2000, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticky-pictures/6583/8 "2000-01-28T06:43:00Z")
I’ve heard of creating a solution with a small amount of dishsoap diluted with water. It worked really well on a picture I had that had paper stuck to it. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2000, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticky-pictures/6583/9 "2000-01-28T06:52:00Z")
You might want to post your question at [PhotoPoint](http://www.photopoint.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi). This link will take you to their UBB powered Message Board. * * * “Many count their chickens before they are hatched; and where they expect bacon, meet with broken bones.” –Miguel de Cervantes– ---
**Author:** ![SavageNarce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@SavageNarce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SavageNarce)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2000, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticky-pictures/6583/10 "2000-01-28T06:56:00Z")
The “soak in water” cure should do the trick, and should not damage the pictures. A little soap won’t hurt either. Don’t try to pry them apart; once they’ve loosened up (after a good, long soak) they should slide apart easily. When I had a basement darkroom, in the deep past, I had a chrome plated sheet of metal to put the gloss on pictures while they dried, called a “ferrotype” sheet. Before I had a print dryer, I used to squeegee the prints on a sheet of ordinary window glass, but that never worked as well as the chrome sheet and the print dryer. Air bubbles between the glass and the print would result in matte areas on the gloss. The fferrotype plate was flexible, and the print dryer had a canvas cover that held the prints firmly against the plate while they dried, hence no dull spots. ---
**Author:** ![bakka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@bakka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bakka)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticky-pictures/6583/11 "2000-01-27T19:07:00Z")
I also used to work in a photo lab. I’d go with the warm water idea. Instead of soap you could try a wetting agent sold at a camera store with darkroom supplies. This should let the photos dry without spots after you get them apart. Don’t use hot water,just warm to the touch. The surface of the paper gets very soft. It is easy to scrach when wet. You can also buy a squeegee designed for photographic papers. It must be really clean. Let them air dry and you might get most of the gloss back. ---
**Author:** ![Sassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Sassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sassy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticky-pictures/6583/12 "2000-01-27T20:00:00Z")
you guys are the greatest!