Voigtländer Brilliant

Good Afternoon,

A friend from church just gave me a box full of old cameras and the one that has caught my attention is a Voigtländer Brilliant. It is in fairly rough shape--very dirty and dusty--but the shutter mechanism still works. My question is, "What is the best cleaner for Bakelite?" I would like to give the thing a nice cleaning and run a roll of film through it just to see what it is capable of doing. I believe it is from the late 1930s or very early 1940s. The top shutter speed is 1/175".

Any help is definitely appreciated!
Aubrey

Windex works well. Or perhaps formula 409 cleanser if it's really dirty. Bakelite is just plastic, anything that cleans plastic will clean it just fine.

Don't spray it directly on the camera. Dampen a paper towel and wipe the dust/dirt off. Use cotton swabs on the cracks and crevices. Be careful with the lens -- windex or glass cleaner from an optician's office on that.

Thank you summicron. That is what I suspected, but I thought it best to be safe and ask rather than sorry later.

wow

What a great olde camera. Bet it takes fine photos.

Nice treasure! Is it actually marked Brilliant or Brillant (just one 'i')?

J

Jon--You are correct, only one "i". I need to wear my glasses when looking at things now days!

Believe me, I know the feeling!

For bakelite in particular I find it is best to start with plain soap and water plus elbow grease. Then once you have removed the grime you can assess the actual condition of the bakelite. If the surface of the lens is totally filthy as well, a dabbing action with soap and water can work wonders as well. Just do not wipe! And obviously do not let water run in. The idea is to take a small sponge and work it into a hot soapy condition, then squish out the loose solution. Basically you will be left with a warm damp soap-infused sponge. Simply dabbing the surface of the lens can lift years of crustified atmosphere! Good luck!

J

I've owned several of those cameras. Mine were the more upscale Focusing Brillants, but they all shared essentially the same bodies. Most people in the Western world turn them into the extra "i" Brilliants. It refers to the view in the finder, which is, well, brilliant. Neat little cameras, w/ good to excellent lenses. If yours is like many of them, the markings inside the front of the lens is long gone, but even the lowest line lenses made great photos. If yours has a bakelite body it probably dates from 1937 upwards. I just used soap and water w/ a toothbrush to clean mine.

Now that you're hooked, you'll want to start lurking on the auction sites for one w/ a Heliar lens. Accept no substitute! I used to call mine a Hasselblad eater, because it was. If you need a mirror for yours, and I'm sure you do, there's a guy on eBay that sells them hand cut for a pittance. They work perfectly, because I sent him the exact measurements from mine back when he got into the TLR mirror making game. He makes them for Rolleicords and stuff too.

Jon--The lens looks relative clean. I will attack it with some lens cleaner this week.

momus--I am just excited the shutter works! If all works well, I will be in Galveston's "Historic District" next weekend for a theatre experience at the Grand Opera House. The buildings in the area are great! The camera may find its way into the car.

Thanks to all for the information!