Painting the insides of wooden film holders

20250427_154237.jpg

D
20250427_154237.jpg

  • 2
  • 0
  • 61
Genbaku Dome

D
Genbaku Dome

  • 7
  • 2
  • 79
City Park Pond

H
City Park Pond

  • 0
  • 1
  • 69
Icy Slough.jpg

H
Icy Slough.jpg

  • 2
  • 0
  • 56
Roses

A
Roses

  • 8
  • 0
  • 140

Recent Classifieds

Forum statistics

Threads
197,508
Messages
2,760,084
Members
99,522
Latest member
Xinyang Liu
Recent bookmarks
0

colrehogan

Member
Joined
May 11, 2004
Messages
2,011
Location
St. Louis, M
Format
Large Format Pan
I just bought some new wooden holders and am considering painting the inside of them flat black. Is there any particular brand/type of paint I should use and how long does it take the holders to dry?
 

reellis67

Subscriber
Joined
Mar 10, 2005
Messages
1,886
Location
Central Flor
Format
4x5 Format
Someone may correct me, but I've had good luck using black acrylic paint from my wife's kit (she is a painter). It dries quite flat, does not stink, is easy to remove from skin, and is relativly cheap in quantity. I've painted the insides of cameras and lens boards with it and it's held up well.

- Randy

P.S. This stuff dries fast too!
 

Monophoto

Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2004
Messages
1,690
Location
Saratoga Spr
Format
Multi Format
"New wooden holders" - and they aren't already flat black?

For touch-up painting, I've always used either flat or glossy black enamel in the little plastic tubes from the auto parts store. Fast drying, and comes complete with a brush inside the cap.
 
Joined
Nov 21, 2005
Messages
7,525
Location
San Clemente, California
Format
Multi Format
When Dick Phillips sold me some Lotus holders to go with a camera he made and I asked him to blacken the holders' light traps and film opening edges, he used an aniline dye he normally applies to the edges of leather straps.
 
Joined
Sep 7, 2002
Messages
595
Location
Sacramento
Format
Medium Format
Diane,

It was good seeing you at the conference...

What part do you want to paint? The guide rails? Inside the light trap? The septum?

I wouldn't use paint, as some paints have a tendency to get tacky with heat or humidity. I would use a dye or a permanent marker to do the job depending on the situation. I have used a permanent marker on all of my light traps, and I consider that to be the way to go for sure.

If I remember correctly, the 5x12 holders you have should have been blackened by markers inside the light trap.


---Michael
 

resummerfield

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 28, 2005
Messages
1,467
Location
Alaska
Format
Multi Format
reellis67 said:
......I've had good luck using black acrylic paint from my wife's kit (she is a painter)......
I've used flat black acrylic paint from the art store, too. But I would not use it again, because the paint went on thick (the stuff I bough had high solids content), and never did feel completely dry. I think I would use a black Magic Marker or Sharpie.
 
Joined
Mar 21, 2003
Messages
706
Location
Somerset UK
Format
Multi Format
colrehogan said:
I just bought some new wooden holders and am considering painting the inside of them flat black. Is there any particular brand/type of paint I should use and how long does it take the holders to dry?

Hi Diane,

I have painted my holders with school chalkboard acrylic matt black paint. It dried in about 15 minutes and the brush cleans with water. One coat did the trick.

Barry
 
Last edited by a moderator:
OP
OP
colrehogan

colrehogan

Member
Joined
May 11, 2004
Messages
2,011
Location
St. Louis, M
Format
Large Format Pan
They were, Michael. I bought some new holders at the conference. I was going to black them out in the same areas as the ones you used. Thanks to all for your replies.
 
Joined
Sep 7, 2002
Messages
595
Location
Sacramento
Format
Medium Format
Diane,

OK. In that case, get a black permanent marker. The last thing you want is any possibility of tackiness in the light trap, as it will gum up the darkslide.


---Michael
 
Photrio.com contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
To read our full affiliate disclosure statement please click Here.

PHOTRIO PARTNERS EQUALLY FUNDING OUR COMMUNITY:



Ilford ADOX Freestyle Photographic Stearman Press Weldon Color Lab Blue Moon Camera & Machine
Top Bottom