Restoring a Sinar Bellows.

[Daniel Unkefer]

I picked this early 5x7 Sinar Bellows up today, at the local used photo shop. It looks close to new condition, but it has obviously been stored, folded-up, for a very long time. It is difficult to stretch out, and seems very dry and not too subtle, unlike my other Sinar 5x7 Bellows, which stretches out quite easily and is very pliable.

I have put it onto my 5x7 Norma, and extended the bellows, very slightly. I want to spray it with something, to restore the original leather. I certainly don't want to crack the leather or otherwise damage it. It's going to be a great addition to my Norma system, once it's been properly treated.

What do you Guys recommend? I'll have to go out and pick something up for doing this.

Thanks! -Dan

[Peter De Smidt]

Is it really leather? If so, one possibility would be to use Neatsfoot Oil, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neatsfoot_oil, and apply a small amount at a time, with plenty of time for it to soak in. Don't soak the bellows in the stuff, or the bellows could become too shapeless. Whatever you do, you don't want to damage the stiffeners or inner cloth, or the glue that holds it all together. I'm pessimistic that this can be made into a reliable bellows.

[mentalcrisis00]

I second the Neatsfoot Oil, I make leather products like shoes, bags, holsters, and scabbards for knifes so I use it all the time and it will restore, treat, and help weatherproof most leathers.

I have a Korona Gunlach and Wista DX 4x5 cameras. The Korona was made in 1918 and had very dry and musty bellows. After I got rid of the mildew I treated it with a small amount of Neatsfoot on a rag and it worked wonders. The leather soaked up every bit and it really made it look so much better.

My Wista has very different bellows than the Korona. For one thing they are made from a paper thin delicate leather. When I got it the leather was brittle and stiff. I extended the bellows fully and this time dipped a Q tip in Neatsfoot oil, blotted it a bit on a paper towel to get rid of excess, and then ran the Q tip down the bellows one crease at a time. This reduced the wear on the bellows and acted as a better applicator than a rag because it allowed the oil to get into every pour in the leather. I let the oil dry over night and applied another very fine coat, let it dry for another few hours. The leather on both cameras is much more flexible, it became darker, and much less dried out.

However leather sometimes reaches a point of no return where it becomes hard and unmanageable. Usually with regular leather stock I soak it in warm water to make it more pliable but obviously this will not work with bellows because it will make it separate from the fabric and loose it's shape.

You can find Neatsfoot at any leather supply or hardware store for about $2 a bottle or less. Use either a half a teaspoon on a rag and rub it together or use the Q tip method for small jobs or delicate leather. Don't use too much as Peter says or your leather will lose all it's stiffness.

[Daniel Unkefer]

Thanks for your responses. I think I will try the Neatsfoot Oil, the bellows appears to be made from leather (not vinyl) so I think it's a good bet. I'll try the q-tip method, and proceed slowly and carefully. It appears to be in close to like-new condition, just very dried-out and not pliable. I'm also pretty sure it's an original 5x7 Norma bellows, those are not common, in decent condition. Considering what I paid for it, I could just keep the format frames, but I do want to try to bring it back to life.

[Daniel Unkefer]

Looking around my studio, I found a plastic can of "Venetian Cream" from cameratools.com , for restoring leather bellows. It had seperated so I mixed it back up, it's very black and perfect to use on my 5x7 Norma bellows. The outside is definately real leather, from the touch, and smell of it. Probably from the 1950's or 1960's, so this is definately a restoration job.

First of all, I extended the bellows as much as I dared, and gently removed the dirt and dust as best possible, with a medium paint brush. Using another smaller brush, I applied a fairly thick coat of the Venetian Cream, and it was dry by the time I was done working it in everywhere, removing as much excess as possible. Then I used a cotton terry washcloth to carefully remove the excess Venetian Cream. When the pleats are "shiny" and new-looking, it's done. Kind of like buffing a very old pair of leather shoes, but alot more delicate procedure, expecially the very soft straight portion of the back of the bellows. The tapered part is alot more durable.

Now it's extremely pliant, and looks absolutely like new, although it will need more elbow grease, to do the final buffing. Not bad to do at all, just very time consuming. There are also some rubber strips X'ed inside the bellows, which are rotten and have broken away. I will carefully remove those, and that's about it.

Thanks Everybody!

[Peter De Smidt]

That's good to hear! Make sure to check it before use by putting a small flashlight inside the bellows in a dark room and looking for leaks.

[Daniel Unkefer]

It's really in like-new condition, probably never used. It's very shiny now, and the leather is thick, the inside pristine. Not surprising to me it passes the light leak test.
No holes at all. Here's how it looks after cleaning and restoration:

[GeorgesGiralt]

Hello !
I've found that a tube from a bicycle is very good to make the rubber springs for Sinar bellows. Cut length on it with the same width of the originals. These allow the bellow to stay compressed avoiding accidents when not in use and also help reduce the drag.
I use contact rubber cement to glue them.

[Daniel Unkefer]

Thank you GeorgesGiralt,

I wondered what those rubber thingees were for. At the left, are two of the original rotten, broken Norma rubber springs. On the right, eight of the substitute rubber springs, cut from bicycle innertube. Now my new bellows will not sag!

[Frank Petronio]

I put some Venetian Cream on my face and now it is restored too! ;-)

Now to find Gina Lollobrigida and Bridget Bardot....

[Daniel Unkefer]

Today I glued the adhesive strips of rubber (from an old bicycle tire) into the inside pleats of the 5x7 Norma Bellows. I found the original adhesive marks, and tried to place the strips just where they were before. Saved the old strips, too, as a reference.

It's done. Here is how it turned out. Turned out pretty good, I think: