Easy Pinhole repair

[moltogordo]

I know there is nothing new under the sun in the LF world, and the world is inhabited by the most inventive, pragmatic people I've ever met, but I did something I'd not seen talked about before, so I thought I'd share it.

I bought a beastly B&J 5x7 Grover monorail real cheap ($60) a few months back, and the bellows had pinholes and scuffs - about 18 or 19 twinkles with an LCD light put inside. As the bellows are red, I didn't want to put black tape on them and the red electricians' tape I got was not a great match.

As I do some hobby painting on occasion, the thought struck me that I should be able to match the bellows color with acrylic artist paint. It dries semi-flexible, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

I first covered the scuffs with a small brush and a bit of Golden Burnt Umber, Raw. After it dried, I did a couple of sealing strokes, and then covered the resultant patches with two coats of slightly diluted Cadmium Red Dark. I let the whole shebang dry, and have used the camera several times this month without incident. The pinholes were easy - same thing, but just one little stroke of Burnt Umber and two strokes of Cadmium Red. No leaks have recurred, and you have to look really hard to see the repair work.

I used Golden acrylics because that's what I paint with, but any brand will do, with a toothpick and QTip I'm sure also doing the trick. Black bellows? Easy. Pinholes with one stroke of Mars Black. I see no reason why adding pigment (available at art stores) to a glue like Pliobond shouldn't be just as effective.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Stormsure Flexible Repair Adhesive works for me.

[Mat5121]

Molto, you've stumbled upon a common fix for bellows interiors, rollerblind shutters, etc. It's cool that you managed to match the colour for the bellows exterior!

[moltogordo]

Well, I sure didn't figure it was original, Mat, but as I stumbled upon it, I thought I'd share it anyway! The Ecclesiastes Principle, it is, it is. "There is nothing new under the sun." Hope somebody that didn't know now does!

I can for sure tell all of the Burke&James red bellows owner that Golden (brand) Cadmium Red Dark will match your bellows so close that you'll have to look to see! But fill the holes and scuffs with black or brown because it theoretically should block the light. Red might not.

[Jim Jones]

In fabric or leather lined bellows, I scrub black liquid acrylic paint into the pinholes from the inside with an old soft toothbrush, no color matching required. Let the bellows dry completely before closing!

[djdister]

Your 5x7 Grover must have been pretty beat up - the bellows on my 8x10 Grover is still in great shape (fingers crossed)...

[Paul Metcalf]

LF world..is inhabited by the most inventive, pragmatic people I've ever met...

Welcome to the "World," nice fix and look forward to hearing about future pragmatism.

[moltogordo]

Thanks, guys! The old toothbrush trick sounds great. Now I'll have to get an old toothbrush! Yes, the Grover was pretty beat up, but it looks nice now. dj, is yours an 8x10? Took some work. But for $60 bucks, I expected that. It was still the cheapest 5x7 I ran into over about 8 months of looking. I'm not mechanically minded at all but I'm pretty good at cleaning up and restoring. Still working on the lensboard fit. Here it is now:

[djdister]

Thanks, guys! The old toothbrush trick sounds great. Now I'll have to get an old toothbrush! Yes, the Grover was pretty beat up, but it looks nice now. dj, is yours an 8x10? Took some work. But for $60 bucks, I expected that. It was still the cheapest 5x7 I ran into over about 8 months of looking. I'm not mechanically minded at all but I'm pretty good at cleaning up and restoring. Still working on the lensboard fit. Here it is now:

Yes, my Grover is an 8x10. A couple of things about it - it is the somewhat newer version in which the monorail uses geared rack and pinion movements. In older versions the monorail was not geared - they use friction adjustment of the standards. Also, I bought a lensboard adapter so that I can use Technika mounted lenses - much easier.

[AtlantaTerry]

Stormsure Flexible Repair Adhesive works for me.

Is that the same stuff Phil Swift sells on TV to repair a boat after he shoots a cannon ball through it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17zyezuw07U

Too bad his product is not available in a small can or bottle for our use.

I have heard that some folks use Plastic Electrical Tape which is supposed to dry flexible and opaque. Does anyone here have experience with it?