Bakelite repair.

Eric the Red · Jun 19, 2022

Good afternoon!
I recently came into possession of a couple of Kodak cameras at an auction. One is a Bantam Flash, and the other is a Jiffy V.P.. The Bantam is in good physical shape, save for a sluggish/sticky shutter, and a small crack in the bakelite back. I have been able to research here how to effectively repair the crack, and am confident I can repair this one.
The Jiffy however, has a small chip missing in two places. One on the camera body and one on the back. I realize this camera is not "collectible" or even highly desirable by any means, so I figured it would be good as a learning tool.
I cannot find any information on repairing peices that are missing. I hope I might be able to use J.B. Weld, and sand it down to match the existing edge. Maybe.
Any other suggestions? Other than wrapping the body seam with tape?

Thank you.
Eric

AgX · Jun 19, 2022

As you indicated, use epoxy glue, best even heat set.

However bakelite is rather hard and not that easy to polish. You might consider taping at least one side so that you can omit grinding the bakelite, but only have to polish the on-level glue.

You also might colour the glue respectively, at mixing.

madNbad · Jun 19, 2022

Sugru moldable plastic. Comes in a tube and has many uses. I covered a Retina IIc eyepiece with it to protect my glasses.

https://sugru.com/

juan · Jun 19, 2022

All I can add is that I used JB Weld to repair Kodak bakelite tanks that cracked in shipping. My repair was made at least 15-years ago and there have been no leaks.

gone · Jun 19, 2022

JB Weld is great for repairs, but it can be a bear to sand or cut down unless you only have a small area.

If you need it for structural integrity too, I would gouge out a tiny trench along the crack, and use a piece of cardboard or a playing card to smoosh it in. Then wipe off the excess before it dries.

Eric the Red · Jun 20, 2022

Hi guys! Thanks for the responses.
The crack repair most have talked about is what I plan to do to the body cracks. That part I am not too worried about. Seems pretty straight forward.
The small chunks that are missing....
MadNbad, does this moldable plastic set up? How did you shape it after it had cured(?) or set up?

Eric the Red · Jun 20, 2022

The picture did not come through the first time...

madNbad · Jun 20, 2022

Sugru would be a good choice to fill that missing piece. The product comes packaged with three small squeezable plastic bags full of the resin. As with any other repair, clean and dry the area, squeeze a small amount of Sugru into the crack and smooth it out. The material is pliable for about an hour and takes a full 24 hours to completely dry. There may be some shrinkage and a second application may be necessary. If I remember correctly, it can be removed without damage. I bought it at Target but it’s also available online. It would be worth your time to look into it further seeing the size and shape of the crack. With a careful application, it should fill it easily. I’m sure there are some online videos that will show the application process. Hope this helps.

Marcelo Paniagua · Jun 20, 2022

Vouch for Epoxy glue as best way to repair Bakelite. Fixed a couple of cameras and developing tanks with it and never had issues.

Marcelo

AgX · Jun 21, 2022

Eric the Red said:
The crack repair most have talked about is what I plan to do to the body cracks. That part I am not too worried about. Seems pretty straight forward.
The small chunks that are missing....
MadNbad, does this moldable plastic set up?

I already advised to use viscous glue and a tape at one side to form a kind of mold. Which at a spherical surface as in your case would not work. Buth then in your case you would have no problem in grinding just the set glue. You can apply the glue in layers to fill (and overdo) the curvature if otherwise the glue runs off.

Donald Qualls · Jun 21, 2022

I've repaired Bakelite chips similar to that (even in light-seal locations like this one) with JB Weld. This metal-filled epoxy is opaque and can be colored black to almost match the original color of the camera body.

The technique I've used is to put a single layer of cling wrap (equivalent to Saran, but brand doesn't seem to matter) in the joint, back the opening on the inside with masking tape or painter's tape, stand the camera with the repair up, and fill the gap with the mixed JB Weld. Allow to cure in room temperature or slightly above, then remove the wrap and tape backing (both should peel right off, in my experience) and use a Dremel or similar to sculpt the cured repair to match the body shape before coloring with a black permanent marker.

One of my two Brownie Hawkeye Flash cameras has a repair done this way, and I've seen no light leaks in several rolls.

Trask · Jun 21, 2022

Wow, great thread, and just what I needed to know. I've got an old Voigtlander Brilliant TLR made of Bakelite that has a bit missing from the upper left corner of the film door, like of like OP's problem. Donald's JB Weld process sounds good, and I'll look into Sugru too. I wonder if the black coloring could be mixed into the JB Weld when both "parts" are mixed together prior to application. That way the color would be all the way through, instead of just applied onto the dried weld -- but maybe adding a liquid color might alter the weld's viability. Maybe a colored powder instead??.......

r_a_feldman · Jun 21, 2022

+1 for JB Weld. I’ve used it to repair a broken hinge on the high/low baffle of a Weston Master III light meter. I used tape for the basic shaping and then sanded the excess off. I did the repair more than 10 years ago and it is still fine.

Donald Qualls · Jun 22, 2022

Trask said:
I wonder if the black coloring could be mixed into the JB Weld when both "parts" are mixed together prior to application. That way the color would be all the way through, instead of just applied onto the dried weld -- but maybe adding a liquid color might alter the weld's viability. Maybe a colored powder instead??.......

There are dyes (sold for boat and aircraft building, IIRC, and yes, in powder form) that are made to mix into epoxy resin. These should be compatible without changing the curing properties or final cured condition of the JB Weld.

Sirius Glass · Jun 22, 2022

The last time I bought JB Weld, I thought that it now comes in a few choices of colors.

Eric the Red · Jun 22, 2022

Donald, thank you for the tutorial, your "how" of doing the repair was the angle I had missed in approaching this task. I will try the sugru on the smaller chip so I can evaluate it, but will be using your J.B. Weld fix on the larger one.
Thank you all for your help!
Eric

madNbad · Jun 22, 2022

Post a few images when you’re done!

Trask · Jun 22, 2022

Looking at the JB Weld products available on Amazon, it looks like there are several products that might work with bakelite. I see the "original" product dries dark grey, so approaching black.

J-B Weld: DIY Adhesives

Epoxy

www.amazon.com

AgX · Jun 22, 2022

Eric the Red said:
Donald, thank you for the tutorial, your "how" of doing the repair was the angle I had missed in approaching this task.

You overlook that this approach, as I already explained above, would not work in your case.

Dan Daniel · Jun 25, 2022

Trask said:
Looking at the JB Weld products available on Amazon, it looks like there are several products that might work with bakelite. I see the "original" product dries dark grey, so approaching black.

J-B Weld: DIY Adhesives

Epoxy

www.amazon.com

Approaching black, yes, but keeping a good distance. If bakelite is zone 1, JB Weld dark grey is zone 3. JB KwikWeld is zone 2. So either adding pigment or applying color after cure will be needed.

Eric the Red · Oct 27, 2022

Here are a few pics of the repairs in progress. I started by making a mold out of pieces of painters tape to get the rough shape of the missing chips. I then used a product called contour putty (because it was what I had on hand). It's a product made by Testors for modeling. I use it on my model train buildings where there is a gap. It's fair stout, can be filed and sanded easily, and takes paint well. I am going to wick some thin CA onto it. It should absorb into the putty, making it much stronger once it cures.
The J.B. weld, in a test setting, was taking way too much time and effort to file to any given shape. It would have been easier to toss the camera, and buy another. So I looked for a different method, and this is what I came up with.
I'll post more as I progress further.
Thanks for looking!
Eric

Donald Qualls · Oct 28, 2022

That contour putty is very similar to what body shop workers call "glazing compound" -- it's used in body work to put the final "slick" finish on Bondo (2-part filler putty) or build up very small thickness without having to mix another batch of Bondo and wait for it to cure. I wouldn't expect it to be either as strong as JB Weld, or to stick to the Bakelite as well, but with the CA flood it's likely to do the job.

With Bondo (haven't tried it with JB Weld), an old trick is that when it's 80-90% cured, you can take off a lot of ugly surface fast with a Surform (equivalent) cheese grater style rasp, when wait for the final cure to finish with a woodworking rasp and power sander.

4season · Oct 28, 2022

I agree with @Donald Qualls : JB Weld can be readily carved using a hobby knife when partially set, and for a simple chipped area, you ought to be able to get close to the final contour in this manner. For sanding small areas, I might use a disposable chopstick with wet/dry sandpaper wrapped around one end. Rather than mixing some coloring agent into the epoxy, I'd simply paint the repaired area. But an alternative to an invisible repair would be kintsugi, in which the repair is kept visible and can enhance the appearance of the object.

AgX · Oct 30, 2022

I did not expect this thread becoming philosophical.
But this is a interesting hint nonetheless.

Bakelite repair.

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