mirror stuck in up position

spyder55 · Joined: 09 Feb 2014 Posts: 1

hello
I have a praktica l and the mirror is stuck in up position so cannot see through lens tried upper left hand tab pushed it mirror dropped but soon as I try to use it it gets stuck up again. anyone have any ideas ?

thankz

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

It's probably the mirror bumper, which is a small strip of foam rubber that acts as a shock absorber when the mirror flips up. They often degrade and turn into a sticky mess that holds the mirror up. The picture shows the bumper in a Pentax but most are the same.

They can be changed fairly easily, but a great deal of care needs to be taken as the mirror is fragile and there is a risk of getting the sticky rubber bits on the focusing screen and the mirror.
Complete kits of rubber seals for the film door and the mirror bumper can be found on ebay, but I make my own with sticky back foam from a craft shop.

http://forum.mflenses.com/light-seal-replacing-the-alternative-way-t51335.html

That's how I do the seals, I thought there was a bit about the mirror bumper as well but I forgot that bit. If you can remove the old foam carefully, cut a bit of new foam the same size, ( I also use sticky back felt for the bumper as well ) and place it in position then that should cure the sticky mirror.