Where to get mirror sponge for F, F2, F3?

[darkosaric]

Hi all,

This sponge that make amortisation of mirror on my F2 fell off. I see on F is also old, so I am planing to get new ones for all 3 nikons that I have.

Are they the same for F, F2, F3? Hard to get? They are on auction site, or somewhere else? Is there something I should be aware?

thanks,

 

[Tom1956]

Make them. Get some foam material on ebay and get busy.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

I've given up on putting foam in cameras. For things like mirror buffers I use black felt, and in the narrow channels for the back and other places I use black wool.

 

[Tom1956]

Speaking for myself I've been disappointed in it too. The original foam was typically very porous and compressible. It was specifically engineered by the camera manufacturer to be a good brake, and good cushion, and a good vibration damper, all in one. All the other foam is denser. You have to tinker with foaming and re-foaming with pieces you have to slit, till it's just right; or as right as it can be. Too thick and it may jam the camera or be rough on the mirror hinges. Too narrow, and the mirror will over-travel its intended distance, being hard on the hinges once again. PITA.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Speaking for myself I've been disappointed in it too. The original foam was typically very porous and compressible. It was specifically engineered by the camera manufacturer to be a good brake, and good cushion, and a good vibration damper, all in one. All the other foam is denser. You have to tinker with foaming and re-foaming with pieces you have to slit, till it's just right; or as right as it can be. Too thick and it may jam the camera or be rough on the mirror hinges. Too narrow, and the mirror will over-travel its intended distance, being hard on the hinges once again. PITA.

Yes, I should have mentioned this. Felt trims aesily with a very sharp blade, I glue the trimmed surface. Contact cement - Weldwood or Pliobond or Barge - all work well.

 

[lxdude]

Jon Goodman is a member here, who specializes in foam kits. He's highly regarded as a good guy. Here's a somewhat recent thread on him:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[Mackinaw]

You can order mirror foam from Micro-tools. Some folks have used computer mouse pads for mirror foam.

Jim B.

 

[Tom1956]

Computer mouse pad is way too dense. Newton's 3rd law. The mirror bounces back off the more "bouncy" denser foam, and that is harsh on the hinges and actuation linkage. I had fair luck with the foam that HO gauge model railroaders buy at the hobby shop to use under their tracks. I slit this material as needed to customize a new bumper foam. Remember that the shiny face of the foam has to be slit off to reveal the actual bubbly interior. You do not want the mirror slapping this surface, as it has no "give". Because this foam is denser than the original, I find I can compensate somewhat by making the width fore-and-aft narrower. This allows me to retain the height of the foam so that the mirror strikes it in the correct last thousandths of an inch in its upward travel. Be very careful not to make foam height too high, lest the mirror will not be allowed to fully travel. Causes jamming. If the mirror is allowed to over-travel, it makes the hinges "sloppy", resulting in malpositioning of the mirror in the down position for focusing.
To slit the foam, lightly spray-glue a piece of chipboard, stick down your foam, use a ruler to cut fore-and-aft width. Pull up the excess. Then use "rails" you have constructed out of paper and chipboard to put on either side of your foam strip stuck to the chipboard. "Trap" the foam strip between these rails. Lay brand new razor blade down flat across the rails, and begin slicing the length of the foam with a gentle sawing motion. Cut the foam to proper length and attach to the front mirror-box flange. (with tweezers) Do not allow glue to get on the groundglass. You'll never get it clean.

 

[illumiquest]

Get a microtools piece of foam and you'll have mirror bumps (and other seals) for life. They sell three thicknesses, I just get all three.

 

[Xmas]

There is mouse foam a few inches from your hand you need scalpel and metal straight edges don't worry about the nay sayers the camera has survived the old foam turning to goo...
child modelling clay allows a template for width remove the screen and keep debris away from shutter and other moving bits

 

[darkosaric]

You can order mirror foam from Micro-tools.

Jim B.

Hi,

I have done that. I got a link from one APUGer on PM - it is already shipped today

thank you all,

 

[dnk512]

Jon Goodman is a *great* fellow to deal with as mentioned above. Excellent materials, too!

 

[gone]

I've used all sorts of things for that. An old pair of headphones provided numerous fixes for my cameras. Just trim off the proper piece from the foam padding and it works fine. I used that pair of pads up finally, and on my FE-2 I cut a piece from some thin black strips of weather sealing I had for going around doors. Worked just great. This is one of the easiest DIY repairs you cam make on a camera. The first time I did it I was disappointed that it made no difference in the mirror slap though. That seemed to come when the mirror slammed back down. Nothing to be done about that.

 

[ulysses]

+1 I've bought many seal kits from Jon Goodman, and they not only fit perfectly, he provides concise and clear directions. Trust him.

Ulysses

 

[ambaker]

The nice part about buying the kits from Jon, is that they are always cut to the right size, and made from stuff that works. No need to experiment, and redo.

I've purchased several different kits from him. Each is custom made for the subject camera.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Tom1956]

Just finished my first re-cement job of a Hasselblad lens doublet. Went well. I used JG's balsam sap procedure and it went well.

 

[lxdude]

+1 I've bought many seal kits from Jon Goodman, and they not only fit perfectly, he provides concise and clear directions. Trust him.

Ulysses

Yep!

 

[lxdude]

The nice part about buying the kits from Jon, is that they are always cut to the right size, and made from stuff that works. No need to experiment, and redo.

I've purchased several different kits from him. Each is custom made for the subject camera.

Yep!

 

[lxdude]

Jon Goodman is a *great* fellow to deal with as mentioned above. Excellent materials, too!

Yep!

 

[resummerfield]

....and in the narrow channels for the back and other places I use black wool.

For the mirror and prism seals, and most uses, I use the foam from Jon Goodman and it seems to be an exact match. But for the back light seals, I'm using black yarn, as E. von Hoegh suggests. I have an original Nikon F from the late 60's that came from the factory with black yarn for back seals, and it is still good as new.

 

[Born2Late]

I have to suggest Jon Goodman as well.

All of his stuff is excellent, and he is a great fellow as well.

 

[lxdude]

And John is an APUGian, too.

 

[Xmas]

BTW just replaced the foam in my F2 mirror box and removed the foam from the back. Don't think it needs any foam or thread.
Does anyone know how they came from factory?