Stripping Old Leather Covering

wfwhitaker · Apr 22, 2007

I thought this had been covered somewhere, but I can't find anything specific after searching. I have an old Conley 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 self-casing camera which, except for needing a new bellows is sound. It's leather covered and the old leather is crumbling off. Since I want to use the camera, I wouldn't mind just leaving the old leather covering on it. But it's crumbly and leaves behind a trail of dust and old leather bits everytime the camera is picked up. What can I use to remove that old leather covering without destroying the wood below? What sort of adhesives were used a hundred years ago? Has anyone tried Citrus-Strip paint stripper?

The wood appears to be mahogany. While I don't want to get into a full-blown restoration, I would like to get the camera cleaned up, put a new bellows on it and go take photographs with it.

Thanks in advance,
Will

Roger Hicks · Apr 22, 2007

Dear Will,

Rabbit glue (a relatively low-tack water-soluble collagen/gelatine glue) was a common way of sticking leather on, I am told. But I don't know how good the information is and the person who told me is dead...

Cheers,

R.

wfwhitaker · Apr 23, 2007

Wabbit gwoo, eh? That would expwain why it's so wascally!

Looking at the camera again, it appears that some careful and diligent work with a scraper (cabinet scraper or such) should work. Then perhaps lightly wipe the wood with acetone to get wid of the wabbit wesidue.

Roger Hicks · Apr 23, 2007

wfwhitaker said:
Wabbit gwoo, eh? That would expwain why it's so wascally!

Looking at the camera again, it appears that some careful and diligent work with a scraper (cabinet scraper or such) should work. Then perhaps lightly wipe the wood with acetone to get wid of the wabbit wesidue.

Vater might vork better; I'd be supwised if wabblit was sowuble in acetone. Add a little vashing up liqvid.

But this is only hearsay...

Cheers,

R. (or perhaps W)

Whiteymorange · Apr 23, 2007

Rabbit-skin glue is not soluable in acetone. It is, as Roger has suggested, water soluable. Chip and scrape away most of it and use a damp cloth, repeatedly wiping with a fresh surface. The final scrape can be done with a piece of glass, freshly cut and snapped (old woodworkers trick) or, less risky, the cabinet scraper you mention. There are shaped scrapers available for tight places.

wfwhitaker · Apr 23, 2007

Roger Hicks said:
...But this is only hearsay...

Or perhaps, haresay.

wfwhitaker · Apr 23, 2007

Whiteymorange said:
Rabbit-skin glue is not soluable in acetone. It is, as Roger has suggested, water soluable...

Thanks Whitey. I'll stay away from the acetone. Good to know that water is the best wabbit wemover.

wclavey · Apr 23, 2007

I just stripped the crumbling leather off of a Crown Graphic and I can attest to the "scrape off what you can then use warm water" approach... it worked like a charm. It took, in total, about 45 minutes to do the whole thing, start to finish.

scwewy wabbit...

bdial · Apr 23, 2007

A bit of heat would help as well, a hair dryer would probably do the trick, or else a hot air gun if you need more serious heat.

Roger Hicks · Apr 23, 2007

bdial said:
A bit of heat would help as well, a hair dryer would probably do the trick, or else a hot air gun if you need more serious heat.

Not sure about that; I'd back the damp cloth/broken glass approach above heat, and I'd be extremely hesitant about using a hot air gun. Wabbit glue dries VERY fast.

Cheers,

R.

JG Motamedi · Apr 23, 2007

Maybe a heat-gun?

waynecrider · Apr 23, 2007

With the leather on a Crown you use steam from a kettle. Don't scrape it off. The glue they used is horse hide glue.

bdial · Apr 23, 2007

Hide glues, whether from wabbits or other critters is prepared, in part, by melting it, and it's applied hot. Applying heat will reverse the process. The trick is how much heat to apply, which would be the minimum needed to soften the glue. Moisture will help too, but too much of either would be a bad thing, moisture probably being the worst of the two, for the wood anyway.
Here's a link for modern hide glue,
Dead Link Removed

Stripping Old Leather Covering

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency