Paint to touch up a Cambo

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

I just received a Cambo rail camera. It is black and has a small amount of rust. I'd like to touch it up.
Questions are, what paint should I use? Does touching up work, or do you have to paint the entire surface?
Rust on screws??? Light/fine sand paper or steel wool???
Any suggestions?
Bill

[Bengt Fredén]

Hi Bill,
I have a couple of Cambos myself, SC-X in 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10" and SC/NX in 4x5 and 5x7". I have done some touching up, particularly to the inside edges of the matte boxes/ compendium bellows lens shades. Try to get a hard laquer paint that is meant for metal surfaces (ask in a paint shop) and apply sparingly with the tip of the finest watercolor brush you can find.

For rust, I would use the kind of steel wool that has soap in it, and rub very carefully on the rusted areas. There is also the kind of thin spray oil that removes surface rust - the can I have is called '5-56'. Then clean thoroughly with chemical (pharmacy) gasoline and paint with a fine brush. Try dipping the tip of the brush up and down (retouching technique) while watching how it blends with the surrounding area, rather than painting with strokes in the usual manner.

You could also try mixing matte (flat) paint with glossy, for a better look. The surface of the paint that Cambo has used is very slightly 'wrinkled' (similar to very light hammertone paint) and the shade is next to black, not dense black. If you have large surfaces that you need to brush up, try putting some drops of gray to a small amount of paint and compare under good light. Good luck!

All the best from Sweden,
Bengt

[Alan Gales]

When mixing paint remember that paint always looks darker when wet. When trying to match paint, dab a bit that you mixed onto a piece of cardboard and let it dry. Then compare the dry sample to whatever you are painting.

[Bill, 70's military B&W]

Thanks, I'll try, Maybe a hobby shop would have small quantities. I think I know what you mean by dipping the paint brush up and down.
Thanks for the information. I was going to use Rustoleum after some steel wool, but I'll try to find a hard laquer for metal.
Bill