old unprocessed film as leader?

[Uglipenguin]

I have a few rolls of old super 8 film that are pretty much unsuable to be shot (old kodachrome II, expired 1970ish ), and I was wondering if they would be useable as leader for the beginning and tails for my films. Yes, I know I can buy actual leader...but I'm cheap :oops: I was thinking of just removing them from the carts and splicing them on where needed.

So, I'm wondering if this would be a good idea...my biggest concerns that that the unprocessed film might have chemicals that could ruin my film? I dont want to run the risk of something like vinegar syndrome. Any thoughts?

[Chris-B]

I do this all the time, as do many of my friends, and I've never heard of or noticed any issues.
Chris.

[BAC]

I would be more worried about stuff coming off and causing problems in your projector, like scratching film. Just looking at it there seems to be more emulsion on unprocessed film. That would be a question for someone who knows more about processing film. Does processing strip some of the emulsion off?

[slashmaster]

Sounds like a good idea. My problem with the ordinary white leader you get back on your 50 foot rolls is it's too short and it shrinks over time so I have problems keeping it on the sprockets until the processed film gets to the sprockets. My dad has used film he doesn't like as leader but that just confuses people. I've been thinking about painting film I don't like to use as leader but will the paint flake off?

[super8man]

Use a sharpie and draw on the film emulsion instead.

[Uglipenguin]

thanks everyone!