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Shutter Curtain Paint ?
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PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 4:54 pm    Post subject: Shutter Curtain Paint ? Reply with quote
So I love those old russian cameras from the 1950s and I have one where you can see that light comes through the curtain. While the shutter works fine it would be a waste and too much work to replace the curtains. If there would be some kind of thick paint available it might be just enough only to paint the curtains. I don't know what was being used in former times, maybe they used grease, but they used something similar. And by time this coating got very dry, often it can be seen easily on the first curtain. Maybe someone knows what was being used in former times, maybe someone have read those russian repair books, I'm sure there must be something similar described.
Thank you all in advance


PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I did use car paint successfully, I bought repair stick ending in small brush. If need to cover larger area it is makes shutter slower.


PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 6:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Attila wrote:
I did use car paint successfully, I bought repair stick ending in small brush. If need to cover larger area it is makes shutter slower.


Thank you so much Attila, this is very interesting, I didn't expect that you can take nomal paint because it will break.
And now I remember 30 years ago, I sprayed some plastic carparts. And to do that the parts needed to be sprayed with two different kind of fluids first. I tried it on a plastic car carpet first, the ones you have under the feet to protect the real carpet, and yes, I could fold the carpet and the paint didn't break. That would be ideal for curtains too I think.
But I'm not sure if this is what they used in former times. Maybe someone has another idea.
Very interesting Attila.


PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 7:25 pm    Post subject: Re: Shutter Curtain Paint ? Reply with quote
Lenny On Ice wrote:
So I love those old russian cameras from the 1950s and I have one where you can see that light comes through the curtain. While the shutter works fine it would be a waste and too much work to replace the curtains. If there would be some kind of thick paint available it might be just enough only to paint the curtains. I don't know what was being used in former times, maybe they used grease, but they used something similar. And by time this coating got very dry, often it can be seen easily on the first curtain. Maybe someone knows what was being used in former times, maybe someone have read those russian repair books, I'm sure there must be something similar described.
Thank you all in advance

I successfully mixed black acrylic poster paint (kids' paint) with PVA (polyvinyl acetate) adhesive about 50/50 and painted it on to the shutter curtains of a 9x12cm camera. It still works, four years on; not a pinhole to be seen.


PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 7:37 pm    Post subject: Re: Shutter Curtain Paint ? Reply with quote
Farside wrote:
Lenny On Ice wrote:
So I love those old russian cameras from the 1950s and I have one where you can see that light comes through the curtain. While the shutter works fine it would be a waste and too much work to replace the curtains. If there would be some kind of thick paint available it might be just enough only to paint the curtains. I don't know what was being used in former times, maybe they used grease, but they used something similar. And by time this coating got very dry, often it can be seen easily on the first curtain. Maybe someone knows what was being used in former times, maybe someone have read those russian repair books, I'm sure there must be something similar described.
Thank you all in advance

I successfully mixed black acrylic poster paint (kids' paint) with PVA (polyvinyl acetate) adhesive about 50/50 and painted it on to the shutter curtains of a 9x12cm camera. It still works, four years on; not a pinhole to be seen.


Thank you. I'm thinking of to SPRAY a very thin layer, I think if I brush the paint with a pen the layer will be too thick and make the shutter slower. And this is by far better than replacing the curtains, I will keep the original curtains.


PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I haven't repaired curtains but for bellows I have successfully used black ink mixed with glue.


PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Arkku wrote:
I haven't repaired curtains but for bellows I have successfully used black ink mixed with glue.


Very interesting Arkku. I think some kind of glue won't get solid so that it won't break.
I still think it's very important to spray only a very thin layer to keep the shutter fast. Maybe the factories who produced those curtains sprayed the curtains too.
But ink is a very good idea, you can use a pen to paint it, because it contains mostly water you can add a thin layer. Maybe I will start with ink only.
I wish I could read those Russian repair books.


PostPosted: Wed May 29, 2013 9:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Arkku wrote:
I haven't repaired curtains but for bellows I have successfully used black ink mixed with glue.


I will search for black clothing ink which can be used for T-shirts. The surface should not break and if I paint only a thin layer the shutter should not be much slower.


PostPosted: Wed Jun 19, 2013 11:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
This is a very interesting topic to me, if only for the sake of thinking about it.
I don't have any use for what's being asked about, but it got me to thinking...

It seems to me that Arkku's suggestion is spot-on: mixing some ink or dye with a carrier which would remain flexible for the long term.
Expanding on the idea, what about trying this with some kind of silicone-based carrier? Common caulk comes to mind, but that's too viscous or thick to easily be applied in this situation. Could the caulk be thinned acceptably? It is also available in black. I also think of common rubber cement, as it has some of the same flexible properties as silicone caulk. This same approach might also work well with some sort of waterproofing material, such as a type meant to penetrate fabrics. A vinyl paint or glue also comes to mind, thinned appropriately. Obviously, any thinning agent used would have to be safe for the camera's materials.

Just brainstorming...


PostPosted: Thu Jun 20, 2013 2:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have an old Canon IIIa rangefinder that has a rubberized curtain that has cracked into many pieces, but it's still all there. And it leaks light -- or at least it did -- from about a dozen different pinholes.

To take care of the problem, I bought a product called Plasti-Dip (http://www.plastidip.com/), which is a synthetic rubber compound. It is available as a liquid and as a spray, and in a variety of colors. I chose a spray can of black. I sprayed some on a paper plate and then using a stiff artist's paint brush, I daubed it onto the first curtain, waited about an hour or so for it to dry, then wound the shutter and daubed it on the second curtain. I then set the camera aside to allow the second curtain to dry completely before I tried firing the shutter. It took two applications before I had eliminated all light leaks. To apply it, because you can't reach the back side of the curtains without dismantling the camera (think Leica rangefinder, if you're not familiar with the Canon rangefinders), I just reached through the lens mount and daubed it onto the front surface. It was absorbed almost immediately through the shutter's fabric, and went on so thin that I couldn't tell it was there once it had dried.

I like Plasti-Dip because it doesn't take a lot and that's important. If you add too much weight to the shutter, you will affect its timing. I also like it because it remains flexible and it is a permanent fix.
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