Looking to replace ground glass on Linhof Color 4x5...any sources?

CropDusterMan · Apr 16, 2015

I have a Linhof Color 4x5 (circa 1959) and although still usable, the ground glass is a little milky and
kinda stained...tried cleaning...only worked a bit. Any input on where to find replacement ground glass
for it?

Thanks in advance,
Jason

shutterfinger · Apr 16, 2015

Ground Glass Cleaning: 1. Remove the ground glass to be cleaned from the camera. 2. Wet the ground glass with water. 3. Apply a drop or 2 of dish detergent to one side of the ground glass then rub gently with your finger tips only, turn over and repeat for the other side. Hold the ground glass by the edges only. 4. Rinse thoroughly. 5. Rinse in a weak PhotoFlo solution then stand on edge and air dry or dry with a lint free towel.
A soak in warm soapy water may be necessary for stubborn stain removal.

For new ground glass try ebay search for ground glass in camera and photo.

Axle · Apr 16, 2015

Couple options:

KB Canham is a good choice and Keith is a solid guy! http://www.canhamcameras.com/ or Maxwell Precision Optics: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maxwell-Precision-Optics/200647716643807

ChuckP · Apr 17, 2015

This place has a good reputation: Dead Link Removed I've used him a while back for a ground glass for an old 9x12 cm Maximar and it works great.

removed account4 · Apr 17, 2015

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

last week i made ground glass out of plexi glass with sandpaper
it cost me a few dollars, and maybe 5 mins tops
it works great, maybe not as perfect as a retailer would sell
but ian's article should take care of that ...

jvoller · Apr 17, 2015

What ChuckP said.... I replaced the GG on my Cambo last year w/ a borosilicate GG from Steve Hopf (after a first attempt w/ an auction-site-purchased screen didn't work out) and liked it so much I replaced the glass in my Wista field camera as well. He'll cut to spec and is easy to deal with. There's cheaper glass, but I doubt there's better.

CropDusterMan · Apr 19, 2015

Thanks for all the input everyone...much appreciated.

Patrick Robert James · Apr 19, 2015

Jason, give wax a try before you blow bucks on a new ground glass. I heard about the method a few years ago and waxed my Speed Graphic. Wow! I couldn't believe it. I went wax crazy for a while. Just about anything with a ground glass I was eying up for a wax job. I used Butcher's wax because that was what I had but I am sure others will work too. Just stick with the natural stuff like Carnauba or beeswax. Maybe the synthetic stuff will work too, but who knows. If you don't like it, you can take it off too. Just be careful if there are any paint lines on it though.

MattKing · Apr 20, 2015

Patrick Robert James said:
Jason, give wax a try before you blow bucks on a new ground glass. I heard about the method a few years ago and waxed my Speed Graphic. Wow! I couldn't believe it. I went wax crazy for a while. Just about anything with a ground glass I was eying up for a wax job. I used Butcher's wax because that was what I had but I am sure others will work too. Just stick with the natural stuff like Carnauba or beeswax. Maybe the synthetic stuff will work too, but who knows. If you don't like it, you can take it off too. Just be careful if there are any paint lines on it though.

One caution though - if you Google "wax job" you may get some results that are significantly different than what you are looking for.

Looking to replace ground glass on Linhof Color 4x5...any sources?

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