FlexSeal and bellows repair?

mark · Jun 5, 2021

I spotted a couple pinholes in my 4x5 field camera while fixing a stripping screw. Where there are two there will be more. It just so happens that I have a couple cans of FlexSeal on the same workbench for a food repair. This got me thinking.

would it be bad to remove the bellows stretch it out and spray a light coating or two of FlexSeal?

I did a little reading and saw reference to black silicone on the inside, electrical tape, liquid electrical tape, something called plastidip but no FlexSeal.

many thoughts?

MattKing · Jun 5, 2021

I'd be concerned about how flexible the bellows would be after the application.
What concerns me more though is what "food" you are going to "repair" with FlexSeal, and what you are going to do with that food afterwards!
(autocorrect? )

wiltw · Jun 5, 2021

MattKing said:
I'd be concerned about how flexible the bellows would be after the application.
What concerns me more though is what "food" you are going to "repair" with FlexSeal, and what you are going to do with that food afterwards!
(autocorrect? )

Little food is edible after a food stylist gets through preparing it for a photo!
But, I too, wonder how FlexSeal is utilized in the context of food!

It seams easy enough to spray FlexSeal on a square of material and see how flexible/rigid it is after it dries, compared to the flexibility/rigidity of bellows material in the span between the folds.

A guy who has done a lot of bellows repair posted this...

What I use is:

Liquid Stitch for large gashes. (also works great glueing leather back to metal).
Followed by a coat of black fabric paint. I use Tulip brand because it's everywhere.
Followed by a coat of mixed Elmers Facbric Glue (flexible, stretchable glue) with the black fabric paint. It'll be grey.
Followed by another coat of black fabric paint to cover the grey back up and to make sure there's no more light leaks.
An optional final coat of black fabric paint.

And a number of people have successfully used artists' acylic black paint, diluted very slightly.

mark · Jun 5, 2021

MattKing said:
I'd be concerned about how flexible the bellows would be after the application.
What concerns me more though is what "food" you are going to "repair" with FlexSeal, and what you are going to do with that food afterwards!
(autocorrect? )

Cracked an egg and did not want to waste it.

shutterfinger · Jun 5, 2021

Golden Heavy Body Acrylic Artist Paint #1040 Carbon Black diluted no more than 1:1 with water painted on the inside of the bellows in two or three light coats allowing 12 to 24 hours curing time between coats. It is light tight, dries flexible, and does not add bulk to the bellows.
Silicone rubber, PlastiDip (the stuff you dip tool handles in to rubberize them), electrical tape (comes off after a few months leaving a nasty residue), and other fixes are what the poster had handy.
I have used fabric glue and Pliobond 25 contact cement to bond leather and fabric back together and to seal the seam when it separates.
Tulip fabric paint has a tendency to stick to itself when dry in my experience.

Its my understanding that Flex Seal will seal anything but the spokespersons mouth as it is to big for anything to seal.

wiltw · Jun 5, 2021

shutterfinger said:
Its my understanding that Flex Seal will seal anything but the spokespersons mouth as it is to big for anything to seal.

FlexSeal can be used to form a boat, but it does not keep out hot air.

mark · Jun 5, 2021

shutterfinger said:
Golden Heavy Body Acrylic Artist Paint #1040 Carbon Black diluted no more than 1:1 with water painted on the inside of the bellows in two or three light coats allowing 12 to 24 hours curing time between coats. It is light tight, dries flexible, and does not add bulk to the bellows.
Silicone rubber, PlastiDip (the stuff you dip tool handles in to rubberize them), electrical tape (comes off after a few months leaving a nasty residue), and other fixes are what the poster had handy.
I have used fabric glue and Pliobond 25 contact cement to bond leather and fabric back together and to seal the seam when it separates.
Tulip fabric paint has a tendency to stick to itself when dry in my experience.

Its my understanding that Flex Seal will seal anything but the spokespersons mouth as it is to big for anything to seal.

I will order some of the paint. FlexSeal works well to seal stuff. I patched a gutter leak last year to see how it worked and it is still holding. Quarantine experiment.

randyB · Jun 7, 2021

I tried FlexSeal spray on some thin polyester cloth to see of it would work for bellows material. A total disaster .The material wrinkled badly and it did not block any more light than unsprayed cloth. For pinholes I use T-shirt paint or liquid electrical tape.

BAC1967 · Jun 8, 2021

The best fix I came up with is to glue a small scrap of dark cloth over the hole with contact cement. Then I paint it with black acrylic. I salvaged an old changing bag that was falling apart for the dark cloth.

mshchem · Jun 8, 2021

I've used some Black stuff called IIRC, Shoe Goo, ?, Stuff comes in a smallish 50-60g tube. I use tiny amounts, just applying a "dot" with a matchstick directly on the pinhole. I've found that 1 or 2 pinholes doesn’t necessarily mean more.
This stuff worked great.

M Carter · Jun 11, 2021

There are as many bellows repair tips as grandma's cures for mosquito bites, but I'll throw in Black Permatex (silicone gasket stuff), it even comes in a tiny tube, like 2 oz or something. Used it on my Isolette bellows and working fine for years now. But just for pinholes.

Don_ih · Jun 11, 2021

Black acrylic paint for small pinholes works very well. Rubberized sealers like liquid electrical tape or sprays remain sticky for a very long time, but they are very good for larger pinholes. If you use them, paint them over with acrylic to remove the tackiness. I have a baby Speed Graphic that has a bellows so full of holes, separation, and wrinkles, I glued paper from an old kodak photo paper bag over the entire interior. It sealed everything up light tight, but the bellows now take up too much room once collapsed to close the camera. A bit annoying....

gone · Jun 11, 2021

This
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...oduct_channel=local&store_code=9897&gclsrc=ds

It always stays flexible, it's very light tight, and it's available just about everywhere (in the US anyway). I've used it on Ikontas, Bessas, Weltas, all manner of folding cameras. The thing about this product is it brushes on super easily w/o making a big mess, and every camera I've repaired w/ it never needed repairing again at that place on the bellows. It would be hard to find anything more flexible and long lasting than black silicone. No nasty fumes either.

BobD · Jun 11, 2021

I have used PlastiDip, both the spray and the thick liquid thinned with naphtha, and it always worked well on bellows. It takes multiple coats.

I have also used PlastiDip to "rejuvenate" light seals that are old but still retain their original shape.

FlexSeal seems similar to PlastiDip in their commercials but I haven't tried it. If I did try it I would thin it first.

cramej · Jun 12, 2021

3m light blocking tape is handy. It's fairly thin so it would probably fold with the bellows nicely.

David Polanski · Jun 13, 2021

I have a 1918 VPK and its still-original bellows need occaional love... I use leather paint for the purpose, in consecutive thin coats, to good effect. Now if I could actually see into the damn thing's viewfinder...

Rick A · Jun 13, 2021

I use Puffy fabric paint for pinholes, it can be purchased nearly anywhere fabric is sold(craft dept @wally world), Book binders tape works best for larger repairs, it's thin and very flexible, and light tight.

mark · Jun 13, 2021

Link did not work, but I know what you are talking about. Do you thin it?

momus said:
This
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...oduct_channel=local&store_code=9897&gclsrc=ds

It always stays flexible, it's very light tight, and it's available just about everywhere (in the US anyway). I've used it on Ikontas, Bessas, Weltas, all manner of folding cameras. The thing about this product is it brushes on super easily w/o making a big mess, and every camera I've repaired w/ it never needed repairing again at that place on the bellows. It would be hard to find anything more flexible and long lasting than black silicone. No nasty fumes either.

AveryMiller · Jun 13, 2021

I've heard of people using everything from electrical tape to black construction paper, but I think the aforementioned fabric glue combined with black paint works quite well. I've used gaffer tape before with a small openings, which isn't a very permanent solution but it's not as destructive as some other methods might be.
Something I'm going to be interested in seeing is how well flexseal holds up overtime-- I wonder if something like rubber reversion would take place at some point.

M Carter · Jun 14, 2021

momus said:
This
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...oduct_channel=local&store_code=9897&gclsrc=ds

It always stays flexible, it's very light tight, and it's available just about everywhere (in the US anyway). I've used it on Ikontas, Bessas, Weltas, all manner of folding cameras. The thing about this product is it brushes on super easily w/o making a big mess, and every camera I've repaired w/ it never needed repairing again at that place on the bellows. It would be hard to find anything more flexible and long lasting than black silicone. No nasty fumes either.

Yep, that's the product I mentioned a couple comments up, my Isolettes have lasted for years now, though I've only used it for pinholes and not tears.

FlexSeal and bellows repair?

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