Reglue Camera Leather? And Introducing Myself.

[John L]

I purchased a Nikon F3HP One piece of the camera leather is becoming unglued on one corner (the one under your left little finger, if you hold the body with both hands in a "steering wheel" grip). It is just starting - just the tip of the corner is lifting off. The leather is in great condition otherwise.

How can I repair this? I was thinking of putting a tiny amount of superglue on the end of a needle, lifting the leather's corner, applying the glue to the corner, and pressing it down. But I have no experience at all in fiddling with camera leather.

Alternatively, is there a repairman you folks would recommend?

(BTW I'm tempted by www.cameraleather.com but I don't want to go that route just yet.)

P.S.: Sorry, I realized I haven't introduced myself! I'm from the SF Bay Area and am rediscovering serious photography after a long "digital P&S" period (Canon G3). As a bit of a computer geek, I was strongly tempted to get a digital SLR setup (probably Canon 20D).

But after some serious thinking about film vs digital, I decided to stay with film. I like the quiet contemplation of traditional printing, I already spend too much time in front of the computer (8 hours/day at work, 1+ more at home), I feel no need for AF, and there are many great manual-focus lenses accessibly priced on eBay - for the cost of a Canon 20D and consumer-grade EF zoom lenses, I could fill out my kit with fast FD "L" primes and a spare T90 body. So I bought a brick of Tri-X and found APUG . . .

Anyway, most of my shooting is with Canon 35mm: T90/FD SLR system and "P" rangefinder. I do have a weakness for cute little cameras - Olympus XA, Rollei 35S. My Hasselblad gear hasn't been used for years, but I'm working my way up to it.

One thing that is making me happy is that my wife recently took a beginning photo class. She loved her class, she's learned the technical stuff that I never could seem to explain to her, and she has become enthusiastic about photography. She's taking a portraiture class next (portraits and candids are her real interest, I prefer landscapes) and will be getting a B&W printing primer soon.

Unfortunately, her existing Nikkor lens isn't fast enough for much indoor shooting. (Can't complain, we got it plus an FG body for free.) So Santa is bringing her a Nikon F3HP + MD4, Nikkor MF 50mm f1.4, and Nikkor MF 85mm f1.4. He has entrusted me with the F3HP, and after inspecting it I see just one flaw - which brings us to the original subject of this post. Thanks for reading!

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Don't use super glue or it won't be easily removed if the camera requires repair.

Pliobond will flex and won't dry out and crack, and will be removable if the camera needs to be disassembled. You can find Pliobond at hardware and auto parts stores.

 

[paul ron]

The best remedy is double sided tape. It is easy to remove if repairs are required and won't have to be removed with solvents. The tape won't damge the leatherete when pulling it from the body. If you check the leatherete, I'll bet it was originally put on with tape unless someone reglued it before you.

 

[Justin Low]

What I would do is remove the entire piece of leather, clean both surfaces (camera body and leather), and reglue the piece using a minimum amount of contact adhesive (rubber cement). Just be careful not to tear the leather when you are taking it off.

 

[John Koehrer]

Pliobond.
have been in the repair trade for years, apply sparingly, one coat. let it get tacky apply pressure & allow to set.
Rubber cement isn't permanent & supergoo isn't controlable.