Camera refinishing

Volvospeed · May 13, 2008

Old Burke & James I have is beat the hell and I have two other ones so I figured I would refinish it. Everyone says they do not refinish that well but I figure whats it hurt to try. I guess I am jealous I cannot afford a Chamonix or Deardorf. Anyways:

Base taken apart

Top sanded down

Color I decided on:

I need to steelwool it out then will apply 1-2 coats off imron clear. All the metal bits I have polished up with tripoli. Should has some more rough pictures tonight. Thoughts so far?

Ian Grant · May 13, 2008

It looks good, should be a vast improvement over the Battleship Grey

Be interesting to see more.

Ian

Steve Smith · May 13, 2008

Makes me wonder why it was ever painted.

Steve.

DannL · May 13, 2008

I like what you are doing to your camera. Excellent job so far. Here's an image of the damage I did to mine recently . . .

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7487667@N06/2409483196/

But, now looking at the perty wood on yours, I think I'll strip it and shellac it. Notice how I cut off the tops of the front standard pillars using a miter saw.

Dann

Ian Grant · May 13, 2008

Steve, surprisingly Agfa Ansco sold a Deluxe version of their 10x8 Universal View Camera in Battleship Grey, with Nickel plated metal parts, it was $100 in 1941, $17 more than the much nicer wood and brass version. After the US Government seized Agfa Ansco after Pearl Harbour the cameras changed and they were all Battleship Grey.

So it seems Battleship Grey was thought better than natural wood

Ian

KenS · May 13, 2008

B&J

Volvospeed said:
Old Burke & James I have is beat the hell and I have two other ones so I figured I would refinish it. Everyone says they do not refinish that well but I figure whats it hurt to try. I
Thoughts so far?

When I decided that WWII US Navy Surplus Battleship grey was not a colour that I considered beneficial to the looks of my 8x10 B&J, I removed their dastardly deed with "circa 1850" paint remover (at least that's what I think the date was) at a table close to the door to the deck to get some relief from the fumes when I found that the remover 'dried' too fast outside. I was delighted to find nice maple, which responded beautifully to a rubbing down with some steel wool. The two coats of tung oil (applied with folded cheese cloth rather than the usual brush) have stood up extremely well. I would not hesitate to recommend a similar treatment. That being said... perhaps an "ugly" grey camera might be a less attractive to "disappearing" from the back seat of your car.

Ken

Volvospeed · May 13, 2008

Too much clear coat LOL.

Jim Fitzgerald · May 13, 2008

This turned out very nice. Good job. As a camera builder I can appreciate fine wood. I don't understand why someone would paint such fine looking wood. This is an excellent job. Something about the look of a restored wood to its natural finish. The patina makes you a better photographer!!! Not really but it is a nice feeling of accomplishment when you are done.

Jim

papagene · May 13, 2008

It looks really nice. You certainly did a very fine job with this project.

gene

Steve Smith · May 14, 2008

That looks fantastic.

Steve.

doughowk · May 14, 2008

Back in the futuristic 50s thru 60s, unpainted wood was considered old-fashion. Not sure, though, why gray was chosen for B&Js. I've stripped my B&J Grover, and it appears to be a light-color wood like Ash.

Steve Smith · May 14, 2008

Where I live, our railway uses old London Underground trains which must be 60-70 years old (used above ground now). These have some quite intricate moulded wood around the windows and other areas which are all made from mahogany and oak and are painted - usually in a horrible light grey just the camera.

Steve.

DKHutchinson · May 14, 2008

Fantastic job on the stripping and finishing!!! Now I know what my own B&J will look like when I get a new bellows for it. You must have been really lucky and/or highly skilled to get the bellows off without destroying it. The one on mine was actually fairly rotten so I had no choice but to order a new one. I'm surprised someone said that said that these don't refinish well. Old growth hard maple as in the B&J view cameras is seldom a problem to refinish, unless you get blotching from a using a some of the cheaper hardware store stains. Nice wood like this should never be hidden under that horrible paint. How did you end up stripping it? I took mine to a furniture refinisher who managed to get all that horrible paint off 3 hours after I dropped it off in his shop. All it needed after that was a light sanding and then I finished it with a tung oil finish I made from McCloskey's Man O'War satin spar varnish.

Mark Sawyer · May 14, 2008

I really like the look of the refinished B&J cameras. When I was looking for an 11x14, the B&J was my first choice because of its 9" square lens board, but I knew I'd end up refinishing it. Fortunately, one turned up a few months ago that was already done! And it looks just right on the Ries maple tripod...

I'm considering having the aluminum black anodized, but I'm not sure how well it would hold up in the field...

Camera refinishing

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