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Restoring old leather covering

Started by Glenn, Nov 08, 2006, 08:56 PM

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Janek

Nov 08, 2006, 08:56 PM Last Edit: Sep 23, 2024, 05:44 AM by smf_adm
I am new to this forum and in fact I am not a camera collector but I am a user of an old camera. I have a wonderfull wooden 5x7 Century Grand dating back to abour 1905. The camera has new replacement bellows and is in a very good overall shape, wood and brass are excellent. It is self-casing camera and it has black leather outside covering. The leather is in fact not in ideal shape. It is pretty dry, stiff and brittle, also there is many wear marks on it. I tried Venetian Creme but it works only if I do not use the camera. After a day hiking and using the camera leather is again full of scratches. It seems that the leather itself or the finish layer needs some restoration.
Would any of you have an idea how to deal with this sort of problems?
 
regards,
 
Janek

Glenn

Nov 09, 2006, 03:58 AM #1 Last Edit: Sep 23, 2024, 05:44 AM by smf_adm
Your best solution is to find a company, which sells restoration products for antique leather book bindings. I use a couple of preparations, that give good results on both books and camera leathers. If you e-mail me direct, I will give you the details of my supplier here in UK. However you should note that if the leather has deteriorated badly, no restoration products will stop the scratches reappearing. I protect a couple of similar cameras with 'slip cases' made from neoprene wetsuit material.

Glenn

Nov 10, 2006, 02:21 AM #2 Last Edit: Sep 23, 2024, 05:44 AM by smf_adm
I will add that there are a number of leather restoration/refinishing kits, for leather car seats, on the market. At least two of these contain a 'lacquer' to refinish the surface layer. The use of such  a 'lacquer' may harden the surface of the leather, making it less prone to scratching.