Removing Old Yashica Covering

5stringdeath · Apr 23, 2010

Awhile ago I got a Yashica FX3 for practically nothing, and of course it has the infamous bad covering. My May project is to re-cover it.

This is my first Yashica and that original covering is nasty! Is there an easier way to get it off rather than just picking at it and flaking it off? Wonder why they used this material (kinda rubbery?) instead of regular old leatherette.

Thanks!

elekm · Apr 24, 2010

It's held on by an adhesive, and it should be simple enough to work on a corner and pull it off in huge pieces.

Works best if you have a tool with a flat, blunt edge -- such as a metal fingernail file. Also, a pair of small needlenose pliers will help you grab the larger pieces.

Some lighter fluid will also help you clean up any residue. And you probably should replace those foam seals, as well.

By the way, I've re-covered several Japanese cameras, including two Contaxes (137MD and 139 Quartz), a Yashica FX-D, Minolta XD-11 and a tiny Ducati Sogno. The Minolta covering had shrunk like a cotton T-shirt in the dryer, while the others had simply worn away.

Here's the Minolta with a new covering from Aki-Asahi:

benjiboy · Apr 24, 2010

There are full instructions on the Camera Leather website http://www.cameraleather.com/.

John Koehrer · Apr 24, 2010

I just use Actone as a solvent. Use a Q-tip as an applicator so it doesn't flow beyond the work area.

unclemack · Apr 24, 2010

Heating with a hairdryer (careful, now!) would, 15 years ago, allow you to peel it off in one - easily - and with almost all the adhesive attached to the covering instead of the body.
Can't really guarantee the technique today though, the plastic is 15 years older... but I think it will still work just fine.

pounder35 · Apr 24, 2010

I agree with another poster that heating with a blow dryer carefully and working slowly will work best. It can be a slow process. Question. Why bother? If the camera works fine and you are using it I wouldn't worry about appearance. If you want to improve the looks to market the camera you may consider the fact that a used car is worth more with faded paint (the origional factory paint) than one that has been repainted. Just my 2 cents worth of probably useless feedback. HAHA!

ps
I see a lot of input of using acetone for various needs but you need to be very carefull with it. If the camera has plastic top and bottom covers acetone will ruin them.

pounder35
23+ years of camera repair

5stringdeath · Apr 24, 2010

benjiboy said:
There are full instructions on the Camera Leather website http://www.cameraleather.com/.

Did you mean specifically for Yashica? I can't find anything. I know how to re-cover a camera, I've ordered from them before. If you have a specific link, that would be appreciated!

5stringdeath · Apr 24, 2010

pounder35 said:
I agree with another poster that heating with a blow dryer carefully and working slowly will work best. It can be a slow process. Question. Why bother? If the camera works fine and you are using it I wouldn't worry about appearance. If you want to improve the looks to market the camera you may consider the fact that a used car is worth more with faded paint (the origional factory paint) than one that has been repainted. Just my 2 cents worth of probably useless feedback. HAHA!

ps
I see a lot of input of using acetone for various needs but you need to be very carefull with it. If the camera has plastic top and bottom covers acetone will ruin them.

pounder35
23+ years of camera repair

Because the material on the Yashica is nasty .. its not leatherette, its like a rubbery stuff that flakes off and is very sticky on my hands. It really doesn't have anything to do with appearance .. well ok, ya, it looks nasty too. Hard to use a camera that feels gross in my hands. I believe this material is pretty specific to these older Yashicas, from what I've read online. I'd rather get rid of it and put on a nice leather covering. Doesn't have anything to do with market value, I'm not selling it.

ic-racer · Apr 25, 2010

Mine is used as a beater. I rubbed the rubber stuff off and painted the underlying fabric with leather/vinyl dye. Took about five minutes and has held up 2 years so far.

elekm · Apr 25, 2010

5stringdeath said:
Because the material on the Yashica is nasty .. its not leatherette, its like a rubbery stuff that flakes off and is very sticky on my hands. It really doesn't have anything to do with appearance .. well ok, ya, it looks nasty too. Hard to use a camera that feels gross in my hands. I believe this material is pretty specific to these older Yashicas, from what I've read online. I'd rather get rid of it and put on a nice leather covering. Doesn't have anything to do with market value, I'm not selling it.

I agree with you. Once that top layer wears away, it's pretty gross underneath.

As I mentioned, I had a Yashica that had the same covering, I think. So I simply pulled off the old stuff, which I outlined earlier, and replaced it with new material. I really like the coverings from Aki-Asahi, so I used that.

Nothing against cameraleather.com, but my experience with them has varied from very good to terribly slow to having to remind him several times what I ordered.

alexmacphee · Apr 25, 2010

I seem to recall that when I did my FX-3, I used methylated spirits and malt whisky. I rubbed meths into the leatherette residue, and drank the whisky. (At least, I think I did it that way round.)

I used Mr Aki-Asahi's kit. Just excellent. The old stuff came away with about half an hour's work, and the new covers go on very easily and snugly.

5stringdeath · Apr 25, 2010

alexmacphee said:
I seem to recall that when I did my FX-3, I used methylated spirits and malt whisky. I rubbed meths into the leatherette residue, and drank the whisky. (At least, I think I did it that way round.)

I used Mr Aki-Asahi's kit. Just excellent. The old stuff came away with about half an hour's work, and the new covers go on very easily and snugly.

Hehe, thanks

Rol_Lei Nut · Apr 25, 2010

ic-racer said:
Mine is used as a beater. I rubbed the rubber stuff off and painted the underlying fabric with leather/vinyl dye. Took about five minutes and has held up 2 years so far.

Nice SL2000F & 35mm f/1.4... ;-)
(Mine say hello!)

5stringdeath · Apr 25, 2010

Well this turned out to be not so bad, luckily the rubber stuff was still attached to the felt pretty good and it all peeled off nicely to bare metal.

ic-racer · Apr 25, 2010

Rol_Lei Nut said:
Nice SL2000F & 35mm f/1.4... ;-)
(Mine say hello!)

Off Topic: I just got back from vacation using that SL35M but I still yearn for a working SL35E (mine conked out a few years ago). So I did a BIN on ebay yesterday for another. It looks a little beat up, but thats OK I intend to use it.

Its coming with a Rolleinar 80-210 zoom. I have no zooms, and no telephotos, and no Rolleinars, so I'll post my experience with it when it arrives.

5stringdeath, now you need a few Zeiss lenses !!

5stringdeath · Apr 25, 2010

ic-racer said:
5stringdeath, now you need a few Zeiss lenses !!

Tell me about it!

Rol_Lei Nut · Apr 25, 2010

OT: Rolleiflexes

OT: Rolleiflexes

At least in Europe, SL35-Es are fairly common and 3 out of 5 were working properly (o.k. one had no BC function or working self-timer).

A beat-up one is probably actually a good sign: It worked properly for a long time (chances are that it'll continue to do so).

The Rolleinar 80-200s were made in at least 2 versions by at least 2 different manufacturers. I had one (don't remember which), which was quite decent.

Teles: Both Zeiss 85mm are wonderful. The 135mm have a great reputation (haven't used one). The 200mm is optically excellent, but the pre-HFT version is mechanically very delicate (diaphragm mechanism). The Rolleinar (Mamiya) 200mm is optically a touch behind the Zeiss, but still excellent and mechanically better.
The other Rolleinars tend to be quite- to very good, though usually not at the level of the equivalent Zeiss optics (when an equivalent exists!).

My "desert island" lens could well be the 35mm F/1.4, but in practice I rarely use it because of the size & weight of the beast.

ic-racer said:
Off Topic: I just got back from vacation using that SL35M but I still yearn for a working SL35E (mine conked out a few years ago). So I did a BIN on ebay yesterday for another. It looks a little beat up, but thats OK I intend to use it.

Its coming with a Rolleinar 80-210 zoom. I have no zooms, and no telephotos, and no Rolleinars, so I'll post my experience with it when it arrives.

5stringdeath, now you need a few Zeiss lenses !!

ic-racer · Apr 25, 2010

Rol_Lei Nut said:
My "desert island" lens could well be the 35mm F/1.4, but in practice I rarely use it because of the size & weight of the beast.

Agree 100%. The lens I took on the 'family vacation' was the 35mm f2.8

Continuing some OT discussion: The new-to-me SL35E looks like it will come to me with slotted screws on the front and back. Most I have seen (including my broken one) have Phillips screws. Some google-image searching lead me to see that some cameras indeed had the slotted screws. Also, the shutter on the new one has shiny rivets, as opposed to the black ones on my broken one. Do these differences mean anything?? I wonder if you have seen any small differences between the SL35E cameras?

Here is the e-bay auction of the one on its way to me: 370369251449

Rol_Lei Nut · Apr 26, 2010

OT Rolleiflexes

ic-racer said:
Agree 100%. The lens I took on the 'family vacation' was the 35mm f2.8

Continuing some OT discussion: The new-to-me SL35E looks like it will come to me with slotted screws on the front and back. Most I have seen (including my broken one) have Phillips screws. Some google-image searching lead me to see that some cameras indeed had the slotted screws. Also, the shutter on the new one has shiny rivets, as opposed to the black ones on my broken one. Do these differences mean anything?? I wonder if you have seen any small differences between the SL35E cameras?

Here is the e-bay auction of the one on its way to me: 370369251449

Yes, I love the 35 & 85mm f/2.8 because they're good and tiny (and the 18mm isn't *too* big): The main reason I'm keeping it as my lightweight travel kit and not going 100% Leica R...

I've only seen Philips screws.
I seemed to remember the rivets being black only, but I just checked my only camera without film in it and they are indeed shiny!

Checking the 3003, which basically has the same, but somehow improved shutter (can reliably do 1/2000 - thought it was upgraded electronics, not the shutter itself as the 2000F can be upgraded to the 3003 "inside" AFAIK just by changing the circuitboard), I noticed that it has 2, not 4, rivets and they are flattened and black.

My 3 bodies all have 64xxxx serial numbers. Yours is a 63xxxx Maybe earlier production ones used slotted screws?
Or maybe, as was often the case, it was repaired at some point (electronics replaced) by Rollei or one of it's service centres?

Enough Rolleiflex minutae (for now)... ;-)

Anyway the seller seems serious and reasonable: If the thing is DOA, I'm sure you can reach an agreement...

Enjoy!

5stringdeath · May 2, 2010

So I recovered the body last night .... and the weirdest thing happened.

Ever since I got this body the light meter was flaky ... the LED's inside would only come on intermittently .. changed battery and everything. Figured I could live with that as I use a handheld a lot anyhow. BUT .... after recovering the body last night in new leatherette, this morning I put some film in and went out back to shoot a test roll, and wouldn't you know it ... meter worked fine for every shot! Seemed pretty dead on to my handheld too, taking into consideration the difference between the incident and reflective meters. Ghost in the machine!

Yeah!

Still no Zeiss glass though :-(

Removing Old Yashica Covering

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