Bellows pinhole dope

[raucousimages]

I have heard of a dope or paint to fix bellows pinholes. I have fixed pinholes with gaffers tape in the past but I have one camera that needs the corners of the entire bellows fixed and tape will make it to thick to colapse into the folded position. Anyone know of this dope and where i can git it?

 

[geraldatwork]

You need something that is flexible. You might try an acrylic paint that is used on fabric. Would tend to be thick and flexible. I've used liquid electrical tape which is also thick,black and slightly flexible to repair the vulcanite (body covering) on my Leica Camera. You might also try that.

 

[Donald Miller]

I have heard of a dope or paint to fix bellows pinholes. I have fixed pinholes with gaffers tape in the past but I have one camera that needs the corners of the entire bellows fixed and tape will make it to thick to colapse into the folded position. Anyone know of this dope and where i can git it?

Bostick and Sullivan have what you need.

 

[removed account4]

equinoxphotographic.com also has similar stuff ...

 

[Peter De Smidt]

Replace the bellows. The bellows are clearly quite degraded. Even if you patch all of the current holes, and the patches hold, when will the next hole appear? Right in the middle of a shoot? Given the cost of 8x10 film, the set-up time involved, and the difficulty or impossibility of reshooting, patching a bellows in this condition is penny wise, pound foolish.

 

[John Koehrer]

An artists acrylic will also work. Black of course. Pick it up at any artists supply & apply w/toothpick

 

[Dave Parker]

It is quite possible to have wear spots on the corners of bellows without any degration of the body of the bellows, this has been quite common over the years with many cameras due to the stress points of the corners always being folded and the body of the bellows incuring very little wear. I have used the liquid electrical tape with success on many cameras, if you do though, just make sure to let it dry fully before closing the camera or you run the risk of it sticking together.

Dave Parker
Ground Glass Specialties

 

[Flotsam]

I had the same problem a few months ago and asked about it here, search for "Holy Bellows, Batman!". After getting some good advice, this was my solution and results:

I went to the Dive shop and bought a tube of Black Neoprene cement for fixing wetsuits. Luckily, the woman behind the counter had studied Photography in college (and is an analog advocate) and understood the problem.

The bellows was in worse shape than I first thought with the vinyl(?) coating cracked at all the corners and corner seams. I have put three coats of the cement along the seams and then dusted it with talc so that it wouldn't stick to itself when compressed. It seems to have worked very well. The results are like Night and Day . It flexes well and doesn't inhibit the movement of the bellows. I'll watch it for further problems but it looks as if I've bought myself some time for a mere $5.50. Just to be safe, I will also hang my darkcloth over the bellows before pulling the slide. Hey, you have to put it somewhere while shooting, it might as well be doing some good.