FED 2 film scratches

[rust]

Just got a fed-2 off ebay and run a film through it, however there seem to be some scratches on it. They run horizontally all the way along the film, about a third of the way up - don't think its the lab as they've never been a problem before and the guy new the film was a test so I hope he'd have said if he thought it could be the processing. There appears to be a couple scratches and paint chips on the back plate and the film plane. Are these the cause? And what is the best way to remedy them?

thanks
James

 

[Mike Kennedy]

It has to be the pressure plate (back plate).I had a similar problem with an old Argus Brick. An online source as well as my local camera shop suggested using Emery grade sand paper. Its for light rust removal.
Thats my 2 cents worth but I am sure you will get better advice. One thing you must remember.......after the metal is sanded it will be prone to rust if you expose the camera to a lot of moisture. The sanding removes the Blueing from the metal.

Good Luck,
Mike

 

[rust]

The pressure plate appears to be painted or coated in something. Some bit appear to have chipped off. Should it be painted? And does this confirm its the cause?

 

[eumenius]

Hi James,

indeed, that's a usual problem with all cameras, not only with FEDs. The sanding is too harsh a method, of course - it's likely to cause more problems, I think. I always cured the scratching by removing a pressure plate (that's not difficult at all), and polishing it on a piece of rough leather with some very fine polishing paste on it (we call this paste GOI, and it's green because the abrasive there is chromium oxide). Some kind of such fine polishing paste should be indeed available in your place. Just take a pressure plate and polish it well, as well as the whole film path in your FED - I assure you, the scratches would be gone.

Cheers from Moscow,
Zhenya