Wiping dust from photographs

[WannabeFramer]

Good evening, I am having a 'mare.

A customer has brought back two photos for the third time and I am just about to throw the towel in. Sobbing session now over, could you advise me please?

Graduation photos, already in a mount from the photographer with the university logo. The mount itself has little 'raggedy' bits on the the cuts which are shedding dust.

The first photo, I used a tissue to wipe around the edge of the mount to remove the little specks. I hadn't realised this marked the photo (even though I was as light handed as I can be). The customer wants me to replace the photos to which I have agreed. I have already re-made one frame as there was a small flaw in the moulding I missed - again, fair enough but as the cost of the photos are more than the frame so I am into loss territory already.....

The second photo was returned because I missed a speck of dust. Fair enough. It has just come back again because of more dust which I struggled to see even when pointed out, but the customer is always right - yes? Hand-on-heart, I went over with a magnifying glass and couldn't see any when I handed it over. I sealed the glass/mount sandwich this time too, to avoid any 'dust pump'.

My question is how to stop dust on the photos and clean away any that has settled. I am so loathe to wipe them and risk marking them again. But I don't know what else to do or what else I should use. I used a soft tissue - would a microfibre be better?

I always use paper towel to clean the glass and had this on the counter, but the customer tells me I am wrong and "wants some effort put in".

Any advice pretty please?

[Fruitini]

Jeez. That customer sounds like a total nightmare. Sorry for you. Some customers, thankfully quite rare, will come to collect with the quest to find something wrong with what you’ve produced. It’s practically impossible to please this type of person. If it’s perfect they’ll be upset they couldn’t find an issue!

Do you have an air compressor? An air blower really helps to blow off any stubborn dust and flumbs. Don’t know how we ever coped without one! If you’re going to use one you’ll want to ensure you have a moisture trap or drier in your setup to be sure no water droplets enter your airline.

[WannabeFramer]

I don’t have an air compressor.

Yes, I don’t think they will be satisfied and are looking for things but even so I don’t want to get a bad reputation. I am just at a loss how to stop it happening again. They were incredibly rude but I kept it together-just.

[vintage frames]

This isn't your fault and has nothing to do with your workmanship.

You already mentioned that the mount was a bit 'raggedy'. That's where the problem lies - a cheap mass-produced mount, poorly cut and shedding flecks onto the photo.

It's a graduation photograph, bless. Who gets one of those?

My advice is to tell your customer that the photographer has used a poor-quality mount and this is preventing you from presenting a dust free frame package.
If they are still unhappy, I would remove it all from the frame and hand it back to them with apologies for being prevented from doing your best work.

Don't worry about a reputation. You don't need them or any friends they might have, as customers.

[Fruitini]

I don’t have an air compressor.

Yes, I don’t think they will be satisfied and are looking for things but even so I don’t want to get a bad reputation. I am just at a loss how to stop it happening again. They were incredibly rude but I kept it together-just.

You can get a farty can aerosol from Lion which serves the same purpose I presume! (Disclaimer…, I’ve not actually tried this product but assume it’s ok on photos/artwork - it doesn’t actually say in the description so do a test first!

https://www.lionpic.co.uk/p/33906/Air- ... osol-400ml

[Rainbow]

Because they've been so rude, I would agree with vintage frames - give them their new photos back and cut your losses. I wouldn’t be surprised if they ask for the original photos back as well, but they are only entitled to have the status quo restored, not to have two sets of photos for the price of one.

I usually use a microfibre cloth to gently wipe photographs and I’ve never had a problem.

If you haven’t got an air compressor, the next best thing might be a dust blower which you can get very cheaply. I don’t have an air compressor either and I’ve just got a very low-tech dust blower grenade, but it’s surprisingly effective. It’s really only suitable for smaller pictures, but I’ve found it useful on glass as well as photographs.

[Gesso&Bole]

First of all, don’t worry about your reputation! This customer is being unreasonable AND rude.

Don’t apologise to them again, call them out for being rude (even if you had done something terrible to their valuable artwork there would still be no excuse for rudeness) give them their money back, and replace the photo. Take the photos out of the frames, and on no account let them have said frames.

[JKX]

All my instincts would be screaming "RUN" and put it all down to experience, but that's easier said than done, a bad atmosphere can leave some people more upset than others, so if it's "only" time - maybe think twice before doing a Peggy Mitchell! Higher ground and all that - sometimes!

There's notrhing wrong with paper towels/kitchen roll etc for cleaning glass, it's what I used. Cloths can become quickly contaminated with oils from your skin (I had a particularly slimy framer once, big problem) whilst paper towels are always fresh. Good quality (not pound shop) microfibre cloths and even miocrofibre towels can be good sometimes, especially on fragile coatings and/or for fimal polishing, but they need washing daily. Maybe not so good on artwork though.

I had a couple of these for dust and flumb removal from fragile surfaces.



The mounts these things come in are awful, in colour choice, in quality and in proportion; usually they are deliberately made a non-standard size in the hope that sucke... customers will also go for their overpriced and also rubbish quality frames.

I almost always persuaded customers to change them; any emblems etc were cut out and revealed in apertures in the lovely smart new mount.

[JFeig]

My first choice would be compressed air from a compressor or a can.

Before the digital age, negatives were used to produce photo prints. Look into a blower/brush such as the one example below.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... edium.html

[WannabeFramer]

Thank you all for the support. I admit I was feeling very fragile last night so I have slept on it. I am a new business - as yet without a shop front - and as such am relying on recommendations to some extent. So it did knock me back. It was the constant comments from the customer, about 'she never has this problem when doing her own frames', she 'expects me to put some effort in', and 'I am clearly using the wrong methods' that got me. And standing there for ages wiping the pictures herself and saying 'see?'. Having put fingerprints on the photos......

Funnily enough, my husband echoed what you said about running away, but he is more hot-headed than me so I wanted another perspective. However, I don't want to go nuclear at the moment as I want to see if I can salvage the relationship professionally.

I will get an air can and try a microfibre cloth and give it one last go. If that is still not satisfactory, then I will ask what resolution she wants. I think she is angling for a discount, but I am not sure if I want to do that. I would rather refund....I think. But I don't want to come across as militant so will cross that bridge if it comes.

[WannabeFramer]

I have ordered an air can, blower brush, microfibre cloths and that soft brush you linked to JKX. I must be able to something with one of them!

[Justintime]

"The customer is always right" is an outdated and ridiculous idea that we should throw to the curb. Some customers, thankfully few, are just ignorant brats or hold onto outdated ideas of customer service whereby screaming and stamping their feet will get them the result they want. These children need to be told to leave and not come back.
A point to note is that when a picture framer accidentally damages a piece of work, sometimes all it takes is a quick phone call to the artist/photographer/supplier, explaining the problem/situation, for a replacement to be sent direct to you free of charge or at a big discount. Accidents happen.
Sadly this sounds like a one in a hundred customer who will always be a PIA (for which many framers add on a specific charge to cope with the abuse).
I recently did a few pieces for a lady who appeared a little fussy and difficult but we got through it fine. When she collected she started inspecting each piece, I honestly thought she was going to pull out a magnifying glass. I've turned down a big job for her, fully confident that she would find fault and turn my life upside down, because that's how she rolls!
My philosophy is that if you already know the answer to the lesson, then you don't need to take it.
About dust, if you don't have a compressor, then have a look at blowers like these:


I have an Opolar one, that seems to vary in price between £25 and £75 depending on which way the wind is blowing from China...
They are really handy. I was dubious, but ended up using one for a few years!

[Justintime]

Oh well, those links failed, look for Elebinke Compressed Air Duster on Amazon...

[Rainbow]

I will get an air can and try a microfibre cloth and give it one last go. If that is still not satisfactory, then I will ask what resolution she wants. I think she is angling for a discount, but I am not sure if I want to do that. I would rather refund....I think. But I don't want to come across as militant so will cross that bridge if it comes.

Up to you of course, but asking her what resolution she wants is leaving yourself wide open to being taken advantage of, and it sounds as if this customer would have no qualms about doing so. And if you give a discount, what is she going to tell her friends - "make a fuss, find some small fault and she'll give you a discount, no problem". You don't need to be militant, just pleasant but firm. The things she has said are totally unacceptable and she doesn't deserve to be a customer. Good luck, whatever you decide to do!

[JKX]

[Mikey the 2nd]

Be very careful with cans of air, they contain moisture and occasionally spit. Same with air from a compressor which 9/10 will have oil in it also.
Mike

[JFeig]

I do not think there is any water in canned air. Just propellent

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_duster

[Chris_h]

Search for Giottos rocket blower. I use this on every picture and mount before framing. You just squeeze these and they are quite powerful, without the risk of moisture or oil from a compressor.

As Mike mentioned above the cans of air do sometimes spit moisture too and a fair bit when they do.

[RogerC]

Do the anti-static brushes work?
Like this one:
https://www.lionpic.co.uk/p/8964/Static ... rush-140mm

[JKX]

Yes they do, the version with the earth lead is best though.

Shop around!