Hasselblad 500 WLF Black or Chrome?

bags27

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I have a black Blad 500 c/m with a black WLF. I get black paint flecks on my acute-matte D focusing screen. Do chrome WLFs give off flecks also? thanks!
 

F4U

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I once had a Hasselblad chrome body and finder that threw off "glitter" like a cheap Christmas tree ornament.
 

itsdoable

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It's usually the flat black paint on the inside of the WLF that flecks onto the screen...
 
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bags27

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Yes. Chrome waist level finders can have the black paint on the folding side walls flake off.

Thanks. That's really what I wanted to know. No sense swapping out WLF's then. Just something that I have to continue to live with....
 

Sirius Glass

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I have a WLF that I have never used. Still folded up and never attached. I have not noticed any flaking.
 
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bags27

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I have a WLF that I have never used. Still folded up and never attached. I have not noticed any flaking.

I suspect it's only when used--opening and collapsing--that the flaking occurs. Both my WLF are black, both are in excellent condition, and yet both my acute matte D's, which I bought in pristine condition, now have black specs on them.
 

itsdoable

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I suspect it's only when used--opening and collapsing--that the flaking occurs. Both my WLF are black, both are in excellent condition, and yet both my acute matte D's, which I bought in pristine condition, now have black specs on them.

Black paint flecks from the WLF should be easily cleaned off with a blower. Unless there was moisture or something sticky involved. The top surface of the acute matte screens are glass, you can use a brush on them. The bottom surface is soft plastic, so try not to brush that!

DO NOT use any liquid, as there is a fine airgap between the top glass and bottom plastic screen, any liquid has a tendency to wick into that gap, leaving stains.
 

F4U

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Curious thread. I've worked on a lot of Hasselblads and never saw one where the black paint of the finder flaked off. For a simple camera with a very basic mechanism, I found the consistency in quality control to be excellent. I had ONE come in as I posted earlier, where the chrome plate on the trim kept flaking as small "glitter" everywhere, but to look at it was still quite shiny. The body had lost most of its chrome plate, but the nickle-plate underneath was still so shiny you couldn't really tell it. I never got to see a 'virgin" body that some tinkerer hadn't done their deeds on before me, Looking back on those years I still admire the quality control, but I guess even Hasselblad had no control on a bad shipment of paint. The mirror pads, baffle door dampers and grease migration were the prime problems. Flecking paint is not a concern. What IS a very definite concern is when is the last time the owner had the body and lens CLA'd by a knowledgeable tech with an access to replacement parts. The "jam of death" is the prime concern. It's not a camera for an occasional user because of the inside-out film feed. If you let a partial roll of film sit in it for weeks or months you will have shots where the film didn't lay flat. regards.
 
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