repair of sheet film holders?

[Les Rudnick]

I have a couple of sheet film holders (5x7, 4x5, Fidelity) where the bottom piece that opens and closes has come unglued and has fallen off. Can these be glued back on reliably? If so, what type of glue is best?
Also, what is a good paint to repaint the black side of the darkslides?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Les

[Louie Powell]

Les - am I correct in interpreting your question to involve the flap at the end of the holder?

If so, you don't want glue. The flap is held in place with tape that acts as a hinge.

There has been a lot of discussion here and elsewhere about the 'best' tape for this application. Calumet used to offer 'hinge tape' that was supposed to be the exact replacement (probably a valid assessment since Calumet owns the Fidelity/Elite/Lisco brand and manufacturing rights). But other options include:

- bookbinders tape. Gaylord is the major retailer of bookbinders supplies, and they offer a cloth tape that should work very well for repairing holders.

- various cloth tapes. Dennison is a brand that you sometimes see in hardware and craft stores.

- vinyl plastic tapes. I picked up some colored vinyl tape many years ago that I've used to repair holders. Can't say how permanent the repairs are, but they've lasted at least 1o years so far.

- black masking tape. This is basically a heavy paper tape, and while it probably won't last forever, it's cheap enough to simply replace it if it wears out.

- gaffers tape (or duct tape). I've not tried these, but others have questioned whether the adhesive is strong enough.

The main thing to remember is that the tape serves only to hinge the flap into the holder - it is not intended to be light-tight. Instead, the basic design of the holder - the way that the flap fits into the end of the holder - is what makes it light-tight.

On your second question, are you talking about painting the end of the darkslide or the face of the darkslide? If you are painting the end, my suggestion would be to get some automotive touch-up paint - the kind that comes in a small plastic cylinder with a brush in the cap.

[John Kasaian]

Louie Powel is correct, tape is what you want. Bookbinders would be my #1 choice but I use gaffer's tape ('cause thats what I have) and it works very well. I have heard that Calumet sells a tape especially for this application but I've never actually seem the stuff. What you need to do is:

Measure the size piece of tape you'll need--this stuff seldom comes in the width you'll require so the wider the better (within limits!)

Remove as much of the old tape and the adhesive from the old tape as you can---usually this is easyily done with an adhesive solvent but on rare occassions you'll find some pretty stubborn stuff. Remember to clean both the bottom of the holder and the parts of the flaps where the tape attaches.

Roll a length of tape out on a piece of wax or other suitable release paper and trim it to the width and length of the old tape.

Holding the flaps in situ, apply the tape to the bottom of the holder and smooth it out over the flaps.

You might need to "clean up" the edges using an exacto knife or razor blade.

[Les Rudnick]

Louie and John,
Thanks for the replies. I will get some tape and give it a try. I am glad that I asked before attempting to repair with glue. Thanks again,
Les