[LargeFormat] Re: The Plague of Fungus

[Les Newcomer]

Now I will admit I don't live in Panama, but there are easier ways to deal
with it.

First off, the biggest worry I have is that fungus will attack the coating
of the lenses. Once it's eaten away, it's gone.

fungus on the camera itself isn't as big a deal as all that. Leather bellows
may need a different treatment, but post WWII bellows are vinyl or some
other substittue that can be wiped and or washed in ammonia to kill
anything.

As for mildew/fungus on wood parts, I'd just wiped them down with ammonia
clean the finish with Naptha then polish with some wax.

If it's really a problem you can kill spores with ozone.  They make machines
used to salvage couches and such after a flood.  apparently they put the
couch in a room with the ozone machine on and let it stay there for several
hours This suposedly gets the spores, and it's a lot easier to kill these
things on LF equipment than inside 6" of foam rubber.

les

> From: John Lakshman <lakshmansweb@sprint.ca>
> Organization: Lakshman's Web
> Reply-To: largeformat@f32.net
> Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2002 06:30:29 -0500
> To: largeformat@f32.net
> Subject: [LargeFormat] Re: The Plague of Fungus
> 
> How is fungus prevented?  I've heard that the best way is to avoid humid
> locations
> in storage and to place silica gel or similar moisture absorbent material in
> the
> gear.  Are there any other ways of ensuring fungus doesn't grow?
> 
> Isn't is understood that if fungus hits the camera and the gear its good as
> garbage?  A friend of mine said that its possible to get rid of fungus totally
> but
> its painstaking and costly.  He said that its done by dismantling a camera and
> gear into their smallest units and removing the fungus from them.  Then they
> are
> soaked in a tub of fungicide.  Then they are washed in alcohol and then
> resoaked
> in a new issue of fungicide.  Apparently this process is repeated and repeated
> ad
> naseum about 9-10 times.  Does it work?
> 
> John Lakshman
> Lakshman's Web Photography
> Toronto, Canada
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> LargeFormat mailing list
> LargeFormat@f32.net
> http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/largeformat