stinky sinar

[pryszmont]

Hi

Just got old Sinar Noma (1965) stinky like old wet basement. It is

smell of fungus like. My question is: How to fight with this smell ?

bellows are the worst.

BR jp

[ronald_moravec1]

I would clean up the bellows with saddle soap and then leather conditioner. Then put it in the sun or fresh air. If that doesn`t work, put it in a plastic bag with baking soda to absorb odors.

 

The camera without bellows can be cleaned with MILD Lysol solution. You don`t want to anything that mat attack the finish. Rinse thoroughly. Complete as above.

[wilbur_wong]

You have a tough problem I think. I am not specifically familiar with teh norma. However all metal parts would not have any continuing problems holding on to odors after any type of general clean up. Spray them with windex and wipe it up, if you have compressed air, it will help to really get into crevices etc.

 

The bellows (and any other fabric parts) that could contain or be organic in origin, or is porous enough to harbor organic materials, would be more difficult to clean. Leather could be a sensitive issue, saddle soap is the usual recommended cleansing agent that is compatible. Most other composite fabric - rubber - nylon etc. materials would be a guess on my part without seeing it. If submerging it in water for a short period (30 minutes) you are wide open to possibilities, including mild soaps, or "oxy-clean" just rinse thoroughly afterward and dry it out.

 

Lacking that ability, my wilder guess would be to spray the bellows with a pet accident deodorizer - cleaner, wait 15 minutes, rinse it all off super quickly, and dry.

 

Hope you find a solution.

[ellis_vener_photography]

For starters , toss the old bellows and get new.

[andy_shand1]

maybe you ought to toss it..but first dehumidify everything..dry it out completely using a drier/dehumidifier so all the fungal spores ect die...the smell will go..and if the bellow fall apart as a result then they would have done anyway.

[jim_rhoades]

I will second Ellis Vener. You don't need to have fungus and mold spores invading and munching the coating or cement of the lens. That spiderweb of fungus across the glass of your lens can ruin your day. Dump the bellows and clean everything else with something that kills all living matter.

[pryszmont]

Thanks for all tips.

Now i have to fish for good 5X7 bellows.

best jp

[kelly_flanigan1]

With Katrina flooded items; here one cleans off the crud with fresh water and a brush. Then one drys the items; and uses an commercial ozone generator to kill off the funk. Leather is difficult; it requires special care to avoid cracking and drying out the leather.<BR><BR> The cheaper leathers made overseas are sometimes cured in urine; and the locker room bathroom smell may have always been there from the start; BUT it gets horrid when the leather items are damp. Cases from Russian cameras are sometimes like this; and those 20 dollar leather jackets sold in grocery stores. With normal decent leather; the time that it has had the smell matters. Search leather cleaning on google and you will get hundreds of cleaning methods. <BR><BR>Sunshine; fresh air; cleaning; ozone; might be tried before replacing the bellows. Commercial auto detailers have ozone gerenators to remove the funk from flooded cars; even ones with leather.