Choose the right cleaning solution. According to Kodak, "One of the best solvents found to date for nonmechanized film cleaning is methyl chloroform.” In today’s environmentally conscious market place, methyl chloroform may not be easy to find. Perchlorethyline is the next best choice. If you don’t feel like a trip to the chemical supply store, household rubbing alcohol will work, but not nearly as well as the previously mentioned chemicals.
Place your film reel on a Super 8 film editor. Unlike a projector, a film editor allows you to manually crank the film towards the take up reel with plenty of open space for the film to travel in between. Don’t insert the film into the editor’s gate. Simply let the film path go straight from the supply to take up reel. The space between is where you will do your work to clean the film.
Use a soft lint free cloth to apply the cleaning solution by dampening an area of the cloth and folding the cloth over the film. Pinch the film gently with the cloth. The idea is to press hard enough that the solution-soaked cloth can remove dirt or residue from the film, but not so firmly that you can’t crank the film onto the take up reel.
Crank the take up reel using the hand crank controls of your editor slowly enough to allow the cleaning solution to dry before the cleaned portion of the film spools onto the take up reel.
When finished, rewind your film onto the original reel. Your film is now ready for projection.