Foil in bellows

[BetterSense]

I have sourced some bellows fabric which seems workable, but features an occasional pinhole. I am contemplating sandwiching some aluminum foil in there. It's perfectly light-proof after all. Can anyone think of a reason why this would be a bad idea?

[Gem Singer]

Reflections off of foil can cause flare. Bellows need to be lined with light absorbing black material.

[Leigh]

Can anyone think of a reason why this would be a bad idea?
How about...

Aluminum foil has no mechanical integrity. It will separate if flexed a few times.

- Leigh

[Jim Graves]

Nope ... use it and if it fails replace it. Aluminum foil is very cheap, very maleable, and very strong ... just panit it flat black. Or use a drop of fabric paint if it's a small hole

[vinny]

really poor substitute for black fabric or new bellows from rudy @ ecbuyonline2008 on ebay.
search "patching bellows" or bellows pinholes

[el french]

Nope ... use it and if it fails replace it. Aluminum foil is very cheap, very maleable, and very strong ... just panit it flat black. Or use a drop of fabric paint if it's a small hole

You'll probably need to use an etching primer before painting the aluminum foil, otherwise the paint won't adhere to it. It would probably be easier to just use black aluminum foil: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/688227-REG/LEE_Filters_280R_Black_Aluminum_Foil.html

On the other hand, I suspect Leigh has the correct answer :)

[Daniel Stone]

I use black ABS pipe cement. Its about $5 for a small can at Home Depot

Mine is the Weld-On brand, but its worked extremely well, and remains flexible enough during long term usage.
Just make sure to let it fully dry/vent out. I leave my camera out for ~48-72hrs after application, bellows extended all the way out.

-Dan

[Drew Wiley]

If it's just a few tiny holes, just use black silicone caulk on them. But if light is getting thru multiple pleat folds on the bellows due to wear, that's a more serious repair (I'd personally replace the entire bellows in that case).

[Bob Salomon]

The problem is that a bellows is not like a Sylvania Blue Dot flash bulb. There is no warning from the bellows that it has lost its light tight integrity. The first indicator for most people is fogged film and possibly a ruined shot. In that case a new bellows is always the best alternative.

[BetterSense]

I'm not talking about repairing bellows but making them from scratch.

The foil will be sandwiched between the usual fabric layers. It's extremely thin and perfectly light proof so it seems a no-brainer to include a layer. Yet I've never heard of anyone doing it, so I thought it was worth asking in case it will cause total protonic reversal or something.

[Jody_S]

I don't know about pure aluminum foil (the kitchen kind), but there are several types of aluminized or laminated materials that should work. I'm thinking of the material used for gum wrappers, or potato chip bags.

[Erik Larsen]

To test your idea, take a piece of foil and make a few folds in it and then repeatedly fold and unfold the piece. I have a feeling that it would eventually rip at the fold. Kind of like bending a piece tin back and forth until it breaks. Just a thought...

[Jon Shiu]

I once used aluminum foil to light-proof a darkroom window. After a while pinholes developed.

Jon

[Steven Tribe]

Apart from the fact that loose cut stiffener strips maintain the crisp fold best, it sounds like a doable project.

Best to use paper coated aluminium foil (kitchen use) as it would be easier to handle/cut/glue etc.

It will not become a particle accelerator!

[Lou Baleur]

The wikipedia article on "Metalized Foil" shows a table which indicates that this material is transparent or semitransparent to UV. The table shows the comparison to regular foil which is very effective at blocking UV.

[BetterSense]

I would still use the stiffener strips. The sandwich would be: outer material, stiffener strips, aluminum foil, and inner material, all glued together with spray adhesive or contact cement.

I need a very thin bellows for this camera so I'm trying to find good material for the stiffener strips. Card stock is too thick and regular paper seems too thin to be useful.

[hoffner]

I would still use the stiffener strips. The sandwich would be: outer material, stiffener strips, aluminum foil, and inner material, all glued together with spray adhesive or contact cement.



That must be the idea of somebody who is the exact opposite of your nick name.

[Larry Gebhardt]

My thought is that bellows holes usually form in the corners. Foil will form holes when bent a few times. So most likely the foil will not add much to the bellows as far as making them light tight. If your bellows cloth has holes to begin with I would just find another source of material.

[Steven Tribe]

I have cut up the thin plastic used to make index dividers in folders. You know A, B, C etc or !, 2, 3....

[Dan Dozer]

Does the "occasional pinhole" come from only looking through one layer of the fabric or two layers? If one layer, you probably won't have problem once you double up the two layers of fabric. If you still need something, you might consider black plastic rather than foil. I would think that it might work better for folding the bellows in the corners than aluminum foil. I use thin card stock like the material for file folders.