rubberized curtain coating

David Lyga · Aug 10, 2018

The Spotmatic had one of the first cloth curtains that was rubberized (on the side facing the rear of the camera). With much use, this curtain side becomes rather pockmarked on appearance, although it does remain light tight.

My question is this: Can this rubber side be coated with anything to make it look rather new and consistent in appearance. I was thinking of a very light coating of acrylic matte black paint because I think that this would retain a necessary flexibility. Or, do you have other suggestions? Thank you. - David Lyga

AgX · Aug 10, 2018

I rather would use it as long as possible. With any coating you would take some risks. Most likely you would have to readjust the shutter speed after any coating.

I am surprized that you bother with a matter of appearance, let alone of a rather hidden part. (To be fair, these days I rejected an Isola because its shutteer blades were a bit rusty, though still working...)

David Lyga · Aug 10, 2018

To be truthful, I am worried that, unless I coat it with something very benign, flexible (to the point of not slowing down anything), and secure, it might slowly begin to let light in. Maybe this is wrong, but I wanted to ask. - David Lyga

shutterfinger · Aug 10, 2018

Rubberized silk was the first material used for shutter curtains starting around 1907. It was .007 inch thick when new.
The rubber will swell, crack and fall off with age depending on storage conditions, sunlight and heat being the biggest contributors to the rubber failure.
Golden Heavy Body Acrylic Artist Paint #1040 Carbon Black https://www.goldenpaints.com/products/colors/heavy-body diluted up to 1:1 with water or their reducing fluid painted on wilt a fine (economy) artist brush will be light tight in 2 to 3 thin coats.
I have only used it on Graflex Focal Plane Shutters and no extra tension was needed to get the shutter operational.
Ebony fabric paint will work also but on occasion will remain tacky enough to stick to itself.
Check local hobby shops or art supply stores for the Golden paint. Golden Fluid Colors will work but dries a little stiffer.

ic-racer · Aug 10, 2018

David Lyga said:
The Spotmatic had one of the first cloth curtains that was rubberized (on the side facing the rear of the camera). With much use, this curtain side becomes rather pockmarked on appearance, although it does remain light tight.

My question is this: Can this rubber side be coated with anything to make it look rather new and consistent in appearance. I was thinking of a very light coating of acrylic matte black paint because I think that this would retain a necessary flexibility. Or, do you have other suggestions? Thank you. - David Lyga

I'd try dilute "liquid electrical tape." It is like liquid rubber.

AgX · Aug 10, 2018

Liquid tape (and fabric paint) most likely contains plasticizer and thus two adjacent layers might glue together over time. A one-sided coating of course will not produce adjacent layers.

AgX · Aug 10, 2018

shutterfinger said:
Rubberized silk was the first material used for shutter curtains starting around 1907. It was .007 inch thick when new.
The rubber will swell, crack and fall off with age depending on storage conditions, sunlight and heat being the biggest contributors to the rubber failure.
Golden Heavy Body Acrylic Artist Paint #1040 Carbon Black https://www.goldenpaints.com/products/colors/heavy-body diluted up to 1:1 with water or their reducing fluid painted on wilt a fine (economy) artist brush will be light tight in 2 to 3 thin coats.
I have only used it on Graflex Focal Plane Shutters and no extra tension was needed to get the shutter operational.
Ebony fabric paint will work also but on occasion will remain tacky enough to stick to itself.
Check local hobby shops or art supply stores for the Golden paint. Golden Fluid Colors will work but dries a little stiffer.

David is asking for a cure for still rubberized cloth. Had you applied your coatings an cloth that already had lost their coating?

shutterfinger · Aug 10, 2018

AgX said:
David is asking for a cure for still rubberized cloth. Had you applied your coatings an cloth that already had lost their coating?

Stripped curtains and cracked/pin holes curtains. The artist paint sticks to the rubber and remains flexible. The rubber should be cleaned with 90% alcohol first for the best results.

David Lyga · Aug 11, 2018

Thank you all for really good responses. It is surprising how much is out there for dealing with any possible dilemma. Tapping into your collective knowledge not only answers my specific question, but plants information for answering other future ones, as well. - David Lyga

AgX said:
David is asking for a cure for still rubberized cloth. Had you applied your coatings an cloth that already had lost their coating?

The curtain is partially still rubberized; I wanted to find a way to deal with not only this specific problem, but future situations, as well. I know how to do many minor repairs, but changing a curtain is beyond my current capabilities. Occasionally, I have been able to re-attach a curtain string, but that is it as far a curtains go. - David Lyga

crumbo · Aug 28, 2018

Many years ago one of my camera techs took a can of aerosol rubber sealant (I think it was Flex Seal), sprayed some into a tray (stinky stuff -- do this outdoors!), then, lifting the camera's mirror, used the liquid solution to paint over pin holes in the rubber side of the cloth curtains of his SLR, first curtain one day and let it dry without firing, the repeating for the second curtain and letting it dry without winding. Since the rubber side never touches rubber as it rolls around the rollers (the back side of the curtain material is fabric), there's no chance of rubber sticking to rubber. Problem solved without having to replace the curtains, or even disassemble.

35mm SLR Pin Hole Test Hack: Take a LOW POWER pocket strobe with a manual/test button, place it on the film rails of a camera, and with the mirror lifted manually, fire the flash in a dark room while peeking into the lens mount. Do this with the shutter wound, and with the shutter released. Any pin holes will sparkle like stars! Also, if there are any light leaks around the focal aperture, you'll see those, too.

jim10219 · Aug 28, 2018

I use Plastidip. Pretty much the same stuff as liquid electrical tape and Flex Seal (latex). It will stick to itself even when dry, but as noted, as long as you only coat one side, it'll be fine. One more thing, on some curtains I've had problems with it sticking to the rubberized side. If that's the case, just apply it to the fabric side. Since in that case it won't stick to the rubber side anyway, you don't have to worry about it sticking to the rubber later on. It depends on what the rubberized side is made of.

rubberized curtain coating

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