[LargeFormat] Patching bellows pinholes

[Clive Warren]

At 07:17 10/09/2003 -0400, David Galway wrote:

>Took possession of an ebay-bought 8x10 Kodak Master this summer; the
>bellows has a few to several pinholes at the corners at full extension.
>
>My 5x7 Ansco had similar problems which I was advised to fix by using
>black neoprene cement on the outside, the stuff they use to repair
>wetsuits. It worked fairly well, but reapplication was necessary every
>so often depending on use, and time of year (it works not so well during
>the cold winter months of course).
>
>Are there any other tried and true patching methods? I'm throwing a
>darkcloth over the bellows, but until I can afford to replace them I'd
>like to have a fix on the bellows themselves.

David,

There have been discussions on this subject here before - you may like to 
check out the archives. I recently tried a new solution using acrylic 
artists black paint. It dries to form a durable "skin" that keeps the 
unwanted light out. If you use two or three coats on the really bad areas 
it will even sort those out. I have used this repair on an 8x10 and two 5x7 
cameras.

One of the 5x7 cameras had bellows that I had considered to be beyond 
redemption and the repair has held up over the few times the camera was 
used recently. The 8x10 bellows are as good as new and are of course a lot 
heavier than the 5x7 bellows. Nothing will beat a good set of new bellows - 
even for US-based people I always recommend the UK firm Camera Bellows. 
They are excellent. long established and reasonably priced. Check out 
www.f32.net/links.html for the URL.

Cheers,
             Clive