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Scott
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 03:38 am: | 
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Anybody have a tip on finding good leather-ette replacements? I've seen posts that recommend using the imitation-leather covering off of notebooks and calendars, but that stuff usually seems pretty stiff. Do y'all know of anybody selling something mail-order? On the internet auction site, Ive seen custom-cut kits for specific camera models, but I've got some pretty obscure old cameras. Anybody have good tips (or links to such) for measuring and cutting the covering to fit around the curves and shapes on the camera body? --thanks! |
Winfried
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 05:00 am: |
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You are correct, the very thin leatherette found on old cameras (if it is leatherette at all, in some cases it's rather some kind of coated paper) is not easy to replace. I found notebooks which have a pretty thin leatherette, the embossing does not match very good to that of old cameras, but it is better than the rather stick stuff used today (the latter is sold by www.micro-tools.com for example).
I think there is no other way to get the new leatherette in correct shape than cutting a template out of paper. You will have to trim this carefully (finger nail scissors are very suitable) to exact shape. |
charlie stobbs
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 06:24 am: |
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What is leatherette? Is it actually leather? Can old cameras be treated with leather restoratives to preserve them? |
Winfried
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 06:57 am: |
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The designator 'leatherette' today rather stands for some kind of fully synthetic material. You will hardly find any genuine leather on cameras, except for some very old ones. However, I found black shoe polish quite useful for brightening up old cameras. You should use something which contains as little solvent as possible. |
rick oleson
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 09:21 am: |
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I was recently directed to this source by a friend: http://www.ganebrothers.com/imitationleather.htm
they sell materials to bookbinders and have very thin, old-style leatherette. this is actually a fabric coated with textured cellulose nitrate (!) to make it look like leather. i have not bought any yet, as my friend gave me a good supply, but they did send me a sample card.
this stuff is good for the "very thin" applications (argus, etc). for more conventional cameras (SLRs, zeiss or leica rangefinders etc) i usually use 2-ounce (1/32 inch thick) morocco grain pigskin which i buy from tandy leather.
to make templates, i usually cover the camera with masking tape and carefully cut it out around the edges, then apply this to the leather and cut around it. in a few cases i have made precise templates on a CAD system that i can print out.
 = |
Kevin
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 11:29 am: |
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If you're trying to restore the original look of the camera I'm afraid I cant help. But if you want to apply a new finish look here for some nice lizard skins.
http://www.springfieldleather.com/ |
Robert
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 11:38 am: |
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I have had good luck with ladies' purses that I find at flea markets. I made a very nice aligator retinette for fun.
I have also tried the book binding leather someone mentioned. I have a friend of the family who restores and binds books by hand. He always has enough scraps around to give me. The paper backing makes it a bit stiff, but glue holds to it very well. He has literally dozens of different grains. It is thinner than the real leather used on Retinas, but about the same thickness as the plastic used on Canonets and similar 70s cameras. |
rick oleson
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 02:31 pm: |
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i got this stuff at walmart:
http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/denim-1.jpg
= |
Charels Fallis
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 14, 2004 - 06:45 am: |
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Go to a used book store and look at the books with leatherette covers. You can get these for about $2 or $3 and get just about any color and texture you can imagine (as long as it's black, brown, red, or - occasionally - green). You slice along the edges, peel it off, soak the glue and paper off of the back and you're set. If you want real leather (and aren't superstitious), most used bookstores have a section of old bibles with leather covers that are very thin but these are a little more difficult to work with and don't have much texture. If you look at the copyright dates in the books you might even be able to find something of the appropriate vintage. |
Charles Fallis
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 14, 2004 - 06:49 am: |
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Rick, isn't cellulose nitrate the same as nitrocellulose, an explosive? After covering your camera can you grind up what's left and load guns with it? |
Don Congdon
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 17, 2004 - 09:19 am: |
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Go to http://www.cameraleather.com. They sell both sheets of leather and leatherette as well as pre-cut kits for specific cameras. |
