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Fedupwithdigital
Tinkerer
Username: Fedupwithdigital
Post Number: 5
Registered: 07-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 01, 2011 - 05:09 pm: | 
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I'm bringing a 1933 Voigtlander Bessa back to working condition. I've got the lens and shutter assembly off and need to get haze off the lenses (amazingly, the shutter, diaphragm and even the self-timer all seem to be working).
The body was rusted shut. I've managed to get it open (there was even an old colour film in there) and I want to clean up the rust, especially a spot inside the back of the film door and a little around the film gate so that I can use the camera.
I want to get rid of as much of the rust as possible without losing too much of the paint. I'm wondering about using T-Cut (used in the UK for polishing newly sprayed car bodywork!) or possibly Brasso or something similar.
Does anyone have any advice before I go and ruin the camera by using the wrong thing?
Cheers |
Br1078lum
Tinkerer
Username: Br1078lum
Post Number: 135
Registered: 11-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 01, 2011 - 06:50 pm: |
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Sounds to me like you would have to repaint it any way. Remove as much of the rust as you can with a small wire brush wheel, such as a Dremel. Sand the areas you will be repainting. Then apply a 'Rust Reformer' to convert whatever is left behind into a paintable surface.
PF |
Kerne
Tinkerer
Username: Kerne
Post Number: 9
Registered: 01-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 02, 2011 - 11:04 am: |
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There are rust stop paints and coating available that can be applied over existing rust, but those are generally only useful in larger applications (ie. cars, bridges). Otherwise, rust and metal repair is essentially the same weather you're working on a camera or a car. (Or the vintage copper and brass fire extinguisher I recently restored.)
The Dremel is fine for quickly removing large areas of rust, but it requires ventilation, safety glasses, a mask and protective gloves. And since it creates fine dust particles should be done in a workshop or outside. I personally wouldn't use a Dremel anywhere near a lens, bellows or shutter just because of all the dust. I've also noticed the cheap wire brushes marketed by Dremel for their tool wear down extremely fast during use. 
Small areas of rust on a camera are usually better removed simply with sand paper, small files or dental picks/scrapers.
I recently cleaned up two Mamiya TLR's. One had about a 3/8" rust spot on the frame which I scraped off, lightly sanded and touched up with a good gloss enamel paint.
Usually, I don't even try to repair cameras with significant amounts of rust on them, but a Bessa might just be worth it.
Good luck!  |
Fedupwithdigital
Tinkerer
Username: Fedupwithdigital
Post Number: 6
Registered: 07-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 02, 2011 - 04:51 pm: |
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Thanks for all the advice so far. I have a Dremel but agree I wouldn't want to use it near the shutter/lens and I imagine it'd be difficult to get all the dust out of the bellows. So it looks like I'm going to wearing the skin off my finger tips with wet and dry sandpaper for a while!
Can you recommend a decent black gloss? Would old-fashioned model enamels be suitable? |
Br1078lum
Tinkerer
Username: Br1078lum
Post Number: 136
Registered: 11-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 02, 2011 - 05:46 pm: |
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Check out the fingernail sanding sticks in the ladies cosmetics section of your local pharmacy, grocery, or big-box store. And the round cotton pads come in handy when cleaning things up. There is also a pointed cotton tipped swab applicator that is good for getting into corners.
And yes, the Dremel would create a lot of dust, and I should have mentioned that. There are also other types of wheels for the Dremel besides the wire ones that can be used for removing rust. I also should not have assumed that you were doing a complete teardown, which is the proper way to handle large amounts of rust. As much as you are going to be handling the camera while scraping and sanding, it would be a good thing to get as much stuff out of the way, to reduce the possibilty of damage.
PF |
Br1078lum
Tinkerer
Username: Br1078lum
Post Number: 137
Registered: 11-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 02, 2011 - 05:50 pm: |
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And you will probably want to bake the new finish, so having the bellows, lens, viewfinder, and shutter attached, along with the leather coverings, is not a good idea.
PF |
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