A tip about foam replacement.

steelneck · Nov 19, 2009

I recently got home an old Chinon CE-4 with the quite highly regarded 50mm 1.7 (lovely smooth bokeh), but all sealing foam in the camera house had gone bad and become a black sticky smear, even the mirror had a tendency to stick in the open position. So what to do.. I found a solution that seem to work. That kind of tape that hockey players tape their sticks with. It is made of a woven quite coarse fabric and is a little soft in several layers. For the mirror foam around the focusing screen i made a 3-4mm strip of 5 layers that i cut to the right length, and for the back that was quite tight i used only 2. It works.

elekm · Nov 19, 2009

Interesting approach. Did you remove all of the old gunk first? My only concern would be the adhesive and how it might degrade over time. But it sounds like you've found something that works.

A very inexpensive solution is to go to a craft store and buy an 8x11 sheet of self-adhesive Foamies (that's the brand name). It used to be $1.99 a sheet, but maybe the price went up.

Then use a hobby knife to cut strips of the proper width. You probably can refoam maybe 30 or 40 cameras from one sheet.

Plus, it should have a longer service life than the real replacement foam. That is, in 10 or 15 years, Foamies won't turn to a primordial goo.

steelneck · Nov 19, 2009

Yes, i scraped it off with a match (wooden stick) dipped in alcohol. Real foam is of course better especially if there are a lot of play between surface, but my camera was quite tight. I suppose my mirror slaps a bit harder against "the roof" since the layers of that tape is not as soft as foam.

Greg Heath · Nov 20, 2009

Go to that favorite place of mine...*Bay...and search for "interslice".... Jon Goodmans foam seal replacements. $6 or $15.

Works great

Excalibur2 · Nov 20, 2009

***It is made of a woven quite coarse fabric and is a little soft in several layers.***

You can also use wool strands.....IIRC old cameras used this.

Excalibur2 · Nov 20, 2009

Greg Heath said:
Go to that favorite place of mine...*Bay...and search for "interslice".... Jon Goodmans foam seal replacements. $6 or $15.

Works great

Well I've only bought in the UK so how does it work for people not in the US, as if paying by paypal do you get fees coverting £s to $s?

verney · Nov 20, 2009

Excalibur2 said:
Well I've only bought in the UK so how does it work for people not in the US, as if paying by paypal do you get fees coverting £s to $s?

You have two options:
a) Your credit card does the currency conversion
b) PayPal does the conversion

Credit card conversion rates are usually better than PayPal's.

mablo · Nov 20, 2009

Oh my... hockey tape. Very innovative. However, I would be careful during the summer heat. Hockey tape glue might start to sweat on the surface.

Steve Smith · Nov 20, 2009

Excalibur2 said:
Well I've only bought in the UK so how does it work for people not in the US

For people in the UK, I can post you a piece of 1mm thick self adhesive black foam. We have acres of it 3' wide on a roll. An A4 size piece would do many cameras.

Steve.

Excalibur2 · Nov 20, 2009

Steve Smith said:
For people in the UK, I can post you a piece of 1mm thick self adhesive black foam. We have acres of it 3' wide on a roll. An A4 size piece would do many cameras.

Steve.

Well thanks, how do I pay you? Send you some first class stamps or whatever?

paul_c5x4 · Nov 20, 2009

Excalibur2 said:
Well I've only bought in the UK so how does it work for people not in the US, as if paying by paypal do you get fees coverting £s to $s?

I've purchased one of Jon Goodman's kits and had zero trouble.
Paypal converted from £ to $ without any surcharge, although the exchange rate was not that good.. Shipping to the UK was about a week, and the total value fell under the import duty floor - Nothing to pay to Customs.

Steve Smith · Nov 20, 2009

Excalibur2 said:
Well thanks, how do I pay you? Send you some first class stamps or whatever?

No payment required, just send me your address via PM. I'm sure I can afford the postage!

Steve.

Joe Grodis · Nov 20, 2009

As a vintage range finder collector I replace light seals often. (2) things to consider, 1, select an adhesive that is stable. In other words, something that will not dry and crack or become gooey with summer heat. Some adhesives give off fumes that can fog lenses and glass in general. I use a clear silicone rubber. It is very stable and never cracks or hardens. 2, one size does not fit all. Some cameras use a very thin seal some a thick seal. For example a Contax ll will need a twine seal about the same thickness as a Yo-Yo string while a Zorki-4 will need one 4 times as thick and about as thick as standard wool yarn. When ever possible I try to use twine seals. Twine seems to last much longer than foam rubber and never seems to dry out and crumble.

elekm · Nov 20, 2009

The Zeiss Ikon Contax II used a yarn-like material as light-blocking material for the top deck, and I've used black yarn as a replacement without any problems.

Later, European cameras almost entirely used a labyrinth design for the back to block light, rather than taking the shortcut route of stuffing it with foam.

With some of the 1970s rangefinders, it can be a lengthy undertaking to remove the old foam. Konica and Olympus were among the biggest users/worst offenders in this respect.

Because of the sheer number of cameras that I've refoamed, it became wiser to seek an alternative material. Plus, I didn't want to be facing the same problem in another 15 years or so.

pcyco · Nov 20, 2009

hallo

i use self adhesive stripes which use glazier. they tape it into glazing rebate bevore they mount the glass. (in german "vorlegeband")
also as damper for the mirror.

mr rusty · Nov 22, 2009

I have to say the kits on ebay for about a tenner that contain various thicknesses and types of both adhesive and non adhesive foam, string, glue, sticks, cleaner are good value if you are ever going to do more than one camera - enough stuff to last you probably for ever, and a good selection of material so you can use what is best for the job.

Anon Ymous · Nov 22, 2009

Since Jon Goodman's kits have been mentioned, are they available? It seems they're gone and replaced by precut lengths of seals, for specific cameras. Am I missing something?

NIck Mirkovich · Nov 24, 2009

No, you're not missing anything.
Apparently, someone has been re-selling Jon's general foam kits as their own and until the matter is resolved, he has stopped selling those kits.
Jon is a great guy to deal with.
I hope this matter is quickly rectified so that he get those kits back on the market.
His *bay site does reference a couple of partners in Europe. Perhaps, they may be able to source the generic foam kit for you and, possibly, save you some money.

mr rusty · Nov 25, 2009

Apparently, someone has been re-selling Jon's general foam kits as their own

Guess that's what I bought then here in the UK! why not? Bulk buying and shipping to UK, resell at a profit. Customer happy. Who loses?

A tip about foam replacement.

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