Film Holder Flap repair?

[Steve Wadlington]

Anyone found a tape good for repairing flaps?

Mine have small pinholes in the tape hinge although I don't believe light it is hitting the film.

Do you remove the old tape or tape over old? It seems if it is too thick, it would shift film plane and cause light leaks!

[BarryS]

I've used black gaffer's tape (Permacel) with no problems. I removed the old tape and carefully cut a new piece out of the gaffer's tape with an Exacto knife. No problems so far.

[Steve Wadlington]

Thanks Barry. I have some black gaffers tape I picked up at a camera store, it doesn't seem to stick all that well although I haven't tried it on the film flaps yet. I have a bunch of 5x7 holders to fix.

[John Kasaian]

Gaffer's tape works well (that's what I use 'cause that's what I've got on hand) but bookbinder's tape is considered better suited for that application. Gaffer's tape is stiff until it breaks down enough to allow the hinge to lay flat. It is still loadable but you may have to employ an extra finger to keep the hinge open for loading until it does.
Have fun!

[Brian Ellis]

Almost any reasonably flexible tape will work. The flap doesn't block light, it just serves as a hinge to allow you to insert and remove film. I use some sort of black 3M tape I buy at Home Depot.

[Fred Leif]

Remember, the film holder's light tightness is due to the baffle, not the tape.

8>)

[Nathan Potter]

Thin polyimide tape has worked best for me. It is translucent but that's OK (see Fred above). It is very flexible, highly durable and very sticky. Bit pricey though - google for availability.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Gene McCluney]

I use black photographers tape. This is a 3m product that is in essence a totally opaque black paper tape. It has a reasonable life span, and is thin enough. You don't actually need to block light with the tape, though, as the design of the flap, with its ledged baffle is what blocks the light.

[Michael Kadillak]

I use black photographers tape. This is a 3m product that is in essence a totally opaque black paper tape. It has a reasonable life span, and is thin enough. You don't actually need to block light with the tape, though, as the design of the flap, with its ledged baffle is what blocks the light.

Gene is refereing to the correct tape. It is specifically called "photographers tape" and it is a cloth material that is thin and is quite sticky. 3M sometimes wants to sell this tape in bulk (12 rolls at a time) so finding a place to acquire a single roll would be the objective.

With all wooden holders (LF and ULF) for which it is impossible to mill in a step edge on the side of the flap the way injection plastic can be molded the correct way to use this tape after the end flap tape is replaced is to actually cover the side holder flap edge on the top of the holder with 3/4th of it on the flap itself and 1/4 on the holder. When you open up the flap to load or unload a holder you want the tape to come up with the flap. When you close the flap then you just push the tape back into position. This prevents any unwanted light from leaking in from the side flap edge and has absolutely NO registration problems with focus. I got this tip from Michael Smith and Paula Chamlee and it works like a champ.