Re-sealing old cameras

I just picked up an old Canonet QL-17. I need to change the light

seal foam on the film door. I have plenty of replacement foam but

I've been having a hell of a time removing old foam that pretty much

turned to sticky goo. Are there any solvents that I can use, or some

special technique for removing old seals?

Scrape off as much as you can with a toothpick. From there, I use a bit of paper towel dipped in rubbing alcohol to clean out the sticky residue. For the light seal channel, it might help to cut a small piece of an old credit card to push the paper towel through the channel. Be careful not to use too much rubbing alcohol, the paper should be moist but not dripping wet.

 

I haven't done a QL-17, but most cameras have a little switch in the upper channel maybe an inch or so from the back door hinge. That switch resets the film counter. Try not to get the old (or the new) foam stuck in there or your counter may not reset. I would also try to keep the rubbing alcohol out too (hence the warning against using too much alcohol).

What about using something like nail polish remover - would that work better than rubbing alcohol?

I've never tried it. Try a bit in an inconspicuous place first to make sure it won't damage the paint.

Lighter fluid

Use Isopropyl Alcohol - It's benign, it's cheap, it works, and it won't leave a mess.

Nail polish remover is acetone, which besides having very strong and potentially harmful fumes, can also dissolve/damage paint finishes. I would not recommend it except as a last resort or with the appropriate cautions (lots of ventilation).<P>

 

Naphtha (lighter fluid, camping fuel, "white" gas) is excellent for removing stubborn sticky foam residue and will not harm paint finishes. It is what I have used in the past when I refoamed cameras. It is highly flammable, so use with appropriate cautions.<P>

 

Alcohol will also work, although I have found it to be not quite as effective as naphtha for the stubborn stuff.<P>

 

I am not familiar with the Canonet, but on Nikons I have refoamed I used a bamboo skewer that had been appropriately shaped on the end to scrape old foam out of door channels, etc. Jon Goodman (interslice) provides this tool in the foam kits he sells on eBay.<P>

<img src="http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/mi/mikerfns/tool.jpg"><P>

Good luck.

Try plain old kerosene or mineral turps.

<P>I haven't had to use them for awhile so i'm having trouble remembering which worked best but i'm sure one of those worked incredibly well on old rubber goo ....where all other things i tried (including alcohol and acetone) did very little.

Privet, Dmitriy!

 

Denatured alcohol or naphtha is the best. If you need the right foam for the Canonet (1.5mm thick and very resilient--open celled), please let me know.

Poka,

 

Jon

For God's sake be careful if you end up working with denatured methyl alcohol. Just a minute or two with that crap in an improperly ventilated room (mixing) and I was giddy with a headache for 8 hours. Nasty stuff, and in my opinion only to be used as a last resort if at all.

I am a graphic artist and have always used bestine. We used to

use it to mix with rubber cement (known as rubber cement

thinner).

 

I keep some on hand now for removing labels from everything

from clothing to glassware.

 

And I use it when resealing my old cameras. (Just so happened

to have resealed a G-III QL about a month ago.)

 

It evaporates very quickly, and leaves virtually no residue. It is

very flammable, so you have to use in a very well-ventilated area.

 

You can get it at most art supply stores. (ie, Asels in Dallas, TX).

 

Also, using wooden chopsticks or toothpicks to pry the old foam

out first is helpful. Then use a QTip with a bit of bestine on it to

gently remove the old adhesive.

 

Good luck.

I just came across this problem on an old Nikon FE that was just handed down to me recently. I used a wooden toothpick and my favorite household sovent -- Goo Gone (http://www.magicamerican.com/googone.shtml). It did the trick.

 

Now where can I find the replacement foam so that I can re-foam the film door and mirror bumper myself?

Oh, I forgot. In addition to the toothpick and Goo Gone, I used a set of metal tweezer to pull off what foam and adhesive I could.

Peter, Jon Goodman (who replied above) sells the foam. As alternatives, I've heard that foam from computer mouse pads can be used, just cut it to the size you need and glue with contact cement or rubber cement. For the film door, black yarn could also be used, but use a good quality yard that doesn't have fibers coming off everywhere.

Oops, "yard" should have read "yarn".