Rollei re-mirroring?

MontanaJay

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I have a 1930s vintage Rolleiflex that my father picked up during the war that suffers a severely tarnished mirror for the viewing lens.
It's been a while since I've inspected it, but I believe it is relatively easy to remove the mirror. My question is whether there is a service to re-finish such a mirror or replace it.
Has anyone encountered and dealt with such a problem?
 

Ian Grant

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Vacuum Coatings Ltd (Scientific Mirrors) here in the UK made me a fron silvered mirror for a Thornton Pickard Ruby Reflex, it's superb I'll be using them again. They can strip and re-silver any camera mirror, actually an Aluminium coating is used in preference these days, it's tougher and less prone to ageing. They also make beam splitter mirrors (half silvered) for rangefinders.

Ian
 

gone

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Dan has the right idea. That ebay seller is great. A year or two ago I sent him the mirrors from my Rolleicord and Voigtlander Focusing Brillant TLR, and he cut the mirrors that he sells directly from those as a guide, so they fit perfectly. He's a nice guy too, w/ excellent prices. The Rolleicord mirrors are a snap to replace, w/ just a thin metal, Y shaped copper colored thingie that goes behind the mirror to help hold it in place. Take out the 4 screws that hold the waistlevel finder on top of the camera, lift it straight up and off, and you'll see right away how to take the mirror out and replace it. You shouldn't have to readjust the focus or anything. There COULD be a shim or two under the WLF, but just put it back when you put the WLF back on. The Voigtlander TLR mirrors are even easier.
 

IloveTLRs

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Another +1 for the Marty1107; I bought from him a mirror for a Rolleiflex Old Standard. Great service.
 

jochen

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Hello,
somewhere I've read that a mirror from a certain scrapped Polaroid camera model can be used and cut to size. Does somebody know the type? It has to be a surface mirror, so a perfectly polished and plain sheet from stainless steel could also do the job. I think it is very important that the thickness of the replacement mirror is exactly the same as the original.
 

paul_c5x4

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jochen said:
somewhere I've read that a mirror from a certain scrapped Polaroid camera model can be used and cut to size. Does somebody know the type?
Click to expand...

Polaroid Supercolor 1000, 1500, and Encore - Other models of similar design will also have a mirror, and I think the pop-up models will also. On the ones I've dismantled, the mirror is 1.2mm thick and brittle (i.e. difficult to cut).

Unless you are desperate to save a few dollars, I'd go with previous posters suggestion of Marty1107 - If you have an oddball, I'm sure he could cut one to suit.
 

PittP

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For the DIY buddy: A welding mirror (highly polished surface metal mirror) --- may be not for an illustrous Rolleiflex, but on those other old ones it works great. And the trip to the local hardware will likely be 70-90% of your investment. Cheers, P.
 
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