Replacing Light seals

Thom Yorke · Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Posts: 7

Hello, I have a Minolta XG-1 & XE-7 that need the light seals replaced. Ive seen the kits on ebay for 9-10 bucks. is this something anyone can do or should i take them to my local camera shop they want $80-90 for both to replace the seals.

thanks

Screamin Scott · Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 3:03 am Post subject:

It's not hard to do, just a bit messy....I have replaced the seals on several cameras...Get your seals from Jon Goodman ( he sells as "Interslice" on eBay)...Quality materials with excellent instructions

peterqd · Expire: 2014-01-04

+1 about Jon Goodman. Thom, you can download his detailed instructions here so you can what's involved before you order the foam:
http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/sealreplacement.html

On your cameras the mirror buffer is tucked in behind a metal plate which makes it difficult and fiddly. You'll definitely need a pair of cranked tweezers and a magnifying loupe. There is a real risk of smearing the focussing screen, so if the mirror foam is in reasonable condition it's best to leave it as it is.

Thom Yorke · Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Posts: 7

thanks you guys for the info, i have patience so I'm gonna give it a try!

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9097 Location: Houston, Texas

I just thought I'd give this thread a bump.

A while back I bought a light seal kit like this one from eBay seller interslice (Jon Goodman):

Click here to see on Ebay

I finally installed it today. It took about an hour from start to finish, and I took my time doing it. Goodman's instructions are very clear, and the whole process went very smoothly. No special skills are required to do this -- just a bit of patience.

Goodman sells kits for a wide variety of cameras, and I can recommend them without reservation. They are inexpensive, and well worth the money and time invested.

About smearing mirror foam gunk on the focusing screen: when I bought my FTb, somebody had already done this -- smeared a bunch of mirror foam gunk on the focusing screen, that is. I decided to give isopropyl alchohol a try, using a Q-tip for application. It worked very well. Wiped the gunk off with just a couple of strokes, and I had a pristine looking focusing screen.

Welp, I'm gonna load some film into this old workhorse and go shoot some pics.