Fixing Vulcanite

I want to bring up a topic that was mentioned some time ago on ZCG and Alain and I had some exchange there... Alain you've mentioned a melted black plastic bag that may fill in hole in vulcanite... what about luiquid electrical tape? Has that been tried?

Any other suggestions anyone?

Vlad

Also, Alain (I think that was you who mentioned the plastic bag) how to you melt it and how do you apply it into the hole?

Thanks,
Vlad.

If I might show you what works for me. on the old leica bodies I used a silicone rubber fill and glue. It comes in black, I put some on a tooth pick and work it in the chipped corner.This works great for small chips but for larger araeas either replacement with some of the many camera skin sites out there. The more collectable the camera the more expensive the job, Now back to the black rubber,leave it harden for about10 or more minutes, then you can tool the surface to copy the original. Another way is to mask off all the trim and carefully brush on paint remmover let it set then with a scraped remove the outer layer, sometimes you have to repeat the process then wipe down with alcohol then slip on one of those prefab body coverings.

Thanks Don! Would I get that at any hardware store?

Vlad

I believe I got it at Home Depot, When you do this the sheen might be different. I spray some matte spray into a plastic cap and use a Q-tip to apply it just to the repaired area. For a user camera it doesen't matter much, it just looks original. Again another thing I tried and worked on leatherette is to use black leather dye, Now if you want a high gloss ,again back to the Q-tip and gently brush on clear brand floor wax. I will have to make some before and after pics. Don

I will try to find it next time I'm in Home Depot. Thank you Don. I will try it on some junk cameras first to see how noticeable it can be...

Vlad

Vlad
Repair in the vulcanite depends on the damaged area.
Liquid tape is a good solution in small and medium areas
In large areas or excessively cracked vulcanite It is preferable to replace it all by a new one.
LP