Miracle bellows reconditioning product!!! Well, perhaps not a miracle...

[C. D. Keth]

In the course of working on my 2D I eventually had to face the question of what do I do with the bellows. Mine were still together and reasonably solid, but ugly as sin. They had the classic cracking dried up exterior and were (I'm sure) full of pinholes.

Well, today I tried something to give them some new life and it looks like it's a considerable winner. I sprayed them with 5 coats of "Plastidip" black spray. It's a spray rubber made for adding rubberized handles to tools. I did a test on some cardboard and it dried quite tough and flexible so I went ahead and did the bellows today.

Are they "like new"? Don't make me laugh! Of course they aren't.
Do they look better? Yes.
Do they work better? Probably, they are now light tight. They're still nice and flexible and but slightly stiffer.
Do they look better? Oh my, yes.
Will it hold up? We'll see, won't we...

I don't think I would recommend this treatment for everybody but for me I think it is about right. It was this or start making a new bellows so I figured why not try it. The places where the outside of the old bellows was really lifted badly from the fabric is still somewhat like that. I see myself having to tape those places with gaffer still. Whatever.

Here's what the bellows looked like before:
http://www.christopherketh.com/images/2DOriginal5.JPG

...and after:
http://www.christopherketh.com/images/2DInProgress2.JPG

[Frank Petronio]

I did the same thing to a C1 bellows that I couldn't get tape to stick to. It took several coats to seal the corners, spraying inside and out. An 8x10 bellows took an entire can.

I think it will be fine until that trip to Death Valley in August... ;-)

[C. D. Keth]

I did the same thing to a C1 bellows that I couldn't get tape to stick to. It took several coats to seal the corners, spraying inside and out. An 8x10 bellows took an entire can.

I think it will be fine until that trip to Death Valley in August... ;-)

Yeah, long term permanence is pretty suspect, especially when I get it out in hot weather. I figure though that if you sprayed it on a shovel handle you wouldn't want it to get all tacky. Hopefully it'll be pretty durable.

I'll give an update once I've had a chance to check it for pinholes. I want to give it the full time to dry and cure before I go flexing it a lot.

[Stephen Willard]

I have an enlarger bellows that could use this treatment. Where did you get Plastidip? I would be very interested in how it holds up after some use of opening and closing the camera in the field. Please email me with your conclusions. Thanks.

[Frank Petronio]

Lowes had it in Upstate NY, hidden in the spray paint rack (hard to notice).

[IanMazursky]

Really Cool! Thanks for the tip.

[Rafael Garcia]

I see no reasson this should not work, and not be permanent. A fine contribution to the tool chest. Thanks!

[Stephen Willard]

Here is Plastidip's website. The product specifications are impressive.

www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

[W K Longcor]

Here is Plastidip's website. The product specifications are impressive.

www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

The web shows it used on a steering wheel. If it stands up to car interior heat -- it should take Death Valley (maybe?).

[C. D. Keth]

I found it at Home Depot in southern california. It was in the paint section with all of the metal paints like rustoleum.

[ic-racer]

Thanks for sharing this!

[GPS]

...
Will it hold up? We'll see, won't we...



We surely will... A small bmol into the jubilation - the plastic stuff is not supposed to stay homogeneous if repeatedly and sharply bent. It's conceived to cover flat or rounded (not sharply) surface with a certain elasticity. Once a pressure is applied against a sharper point the stuff has no resistance to speak of. How many sharp bents cycles you think the plastic can withstand? More than a pin holed nylon/leather/etc. of the original bellows material? If not, why shouldn't it create holes even more easily than the original material? Your discovery is nothing else than an invitation to future troubles. Sorry to play this bmoll to your song...

[Brian Wallen]

I have used auto undercoating spray in the same way. I tried this on an old Kodak folder which doesn't get a lot of use in extreme conditions, but so far it has been lighttight and hasn't caused a problem with bellows folds sticking together. It dried to a mat finish that resembled the appearance of the cloth bellows material.

I have no reason to think it is better or worse than Plastidip, but others may want to try it on bellows of last resort.

[Frank Petronio]

I took 4-5 coats which should help avoid holes. But I also sold the camera ;-)