Konica C35 Automatic light seal install

[KerrKid]

I got a set of Konica C35 Automatic light seals from US Camera and installed them yesterday. First time I'd ever installed light seals myself.

Not the easiest thing to do, but not the most difficult, either. I had my magnifiers on and had good lighting, tweezers, pointy sticks, x-acto knife, etc.

For the install, I used Purell without any fragrances or additives of any kind as recommended by US Camera. I used a small paint brush and brushed it on the adhesive of the foam seals and also on the part of the camera where the seal was going.

The Purell allowed the easy placement and positioning of the seals. It didn't dry out too fast even though the stuff I was using was high strength which I assumed meant a higher content of alcohol than the regular Purell. I could not imagine doing this another way and Purell is cheap so why not use it?

The only problem I had with the install was with the super thin seal in the kit. What a bugger. Just getting the backing off was tough without damaging the seal. It also was very easy to twist and a great deal of precision and care had to be taken to make sure the adhesive side was in the bottom of the film door groove and not on its side. This is the seal that would separate the men from the boys.

The instructions say to "set" the seals by closing the film door, but I thought this was a bad idea since at least one of the seals would have been pushed out of position, in my opinion. I just let the seals dry for about 3 hours and then closed the door.

I have no idea if the seals are sealing, yet. I just ran a roll of film through the camera and have to send it off to be developed. We'll see. It won't be the end of the world if it doesn't seal completely. I'll just add foam or felt until it does.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend replacing light seals yourself, but you really have to have steady hands and like detail work. I guess the good part is that you can always remove them and start over if it doesn't work.

 

[gone]

Congratulations, I've never been able to get up the nerve. The one time I did replace the seals on a camera, the whole experience was messy and fussy. My Pentax MV has a light leak at the door hinge, and it's been used as it is w/ a piece of gaffer's tape over it for more than a year now.

 

[BobD]

I have re-sealed many cameras. Mostly 35mm but also some medium format cameras, film backs and some other accessories. I cut my seals from foam sheets. Most jobs take about an hour or so and most of that time is spent cleaning out the old gunk.

In my opinion, you were right in not closing the film door right away after replacing seals using an applied adhesive. Doing so can result in gluing the film door shut --- not a good thing. I wait at least 12-24 hours.

 

[KerrKid]

Congratulations, I've never been able to get up the nerve. The one time I did replace the seals on a camera, the whole experience was messy and fussy. My Pentax MV has a light leak at the door hinge, and it's been used as it is w/ a piece of gaffer's tape over it for more than a year now.

Well, this is your little baby that got the seals. My, oh my, what a sweet little camera. I love it. Heck, I like just holding it. You can't have it back.))

I did trial runs on the light seals for about a week trying to screw up my courage to do the deed. Lol. I pondered and pondered and placed the seals where they were supposed to go and looked at the length, thickness, etc. I did this probably a dozen times. Once I got the Purell, I figured I could futz with the seals and not have them stick. That's a big deal and put me at ease for the most part.

Like I said, it was mostly a piece of cake except for the real thin seal. Magnifiers are a must for doing this, though. Even then, I was having trouble seeing what was going on with the silly thin one. Would be great if the adhesive side was red or something so I could see where it was. BTW...Gray at US Camera said don't even try to custom make your own thin foam seals. I believe that's advice worth taking.

I think for the real thin channels a piece of black yarn would probably do the trick as well as foam or felt. Just put a very small bead of an adhesive (I keep hearing about Pliobond) in the channel and lay that yarn in there. I'd probably hold it on both ends with tweezers when I did this.

I heard that you can measure the channels for doing custom seals with a piece of solder. Clever. Nice and bendy but won't stretch.

Anyway, go ahead a give it a shot on one of your easier cameras. I think you'll find it isn't that difficult.

 

[BobD]

I recommend not using yarn. It can shed fibers that get onto the film.

 

[KerrKid]

I recommend not using yarn. It can shed fibers that get onto the film.

Good point. What would you suggest?

 

[BobD]

I almost always use foam. It can be had in very thin sheets if necessary.

For cutting foam I use a rotary cutter and steel rule. Or, for small bits I use fine sewing scissors or razor knives.

In some cases, for tight areas, I have used black liquid rubber products such as Plasti-Dip applied with a fine brush or hypo type needle.

 

[KerrKid]

I almost always use foam. It can be had in very thin sheets if necessary.

For cutting foam I use a rotary cutter and steel rule. Or, for small bits I use fine sewing scissors or razor knives.

In some cases, for tight areas, I have used black liquid rubber products such as Plasti-Dip applied with a fine brush or hypo type needle.

Interesting. Thanks. I'm very handy with an x-acto knife and steel ruler, but a rotary cutter sounds like the bee's knees. I'll have to get one.

Do you get the foam sheets with the adhesive backing or do you glue it in place?

I'll have to get some Plasti-Dip. I thought I had something like that that I used for insulating wire splices. Not sure if it's similar.

 

[BobD]

Do you get the foam sheets with the adhesive backing or do you glue it in place?

Both. For wider areas such as near the door hinge, I usually use the adhesive-backed type. For the skinny strips above and below the film gate, I cut them from non-adhesive sheets and lightly glue in place.

 

[KerrKid]

Both. For wider areas such as near the door hinge, I usually use the adhesive-backed type. For the skinny strips above and below the film gate, I cut them from non-adhesive sheets and lightly glue in place.

How do you know what thickness to use?

Many of the seals on the cameras I’ve bought were either gone or so bad that I couldn’t tell anything about them.

This seals in the seal kit for the Konica were three different thicknesses.

I guess err on the side of too thick rather than too thin?

 

[BobD]

How do you know what thickness to use?

If you can't close the back, it's too thick.