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Zombicams
Tinkerer
Username: Zombicams

Post Number: 9
Registered: 12-2012

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Posted on Friday, February 08, 2013 - 02:25 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Just to be sure is it shellac they used to hold leather on the No. 3A Kodaks and how do I loosen whatever it is so I can remove the leather?

I need to swap good leather from the back door of a junker to the naked back door of a good No. 3A.
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Marty
Tinkerer
Username: Marty

Post Number: 110
Registered: 11-2008

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Posted on Saturday, February 09, 2013 - 06:52 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Since nobody that knows better then I has answered yet, I'll give it a shot. I've always managed to carefully peel the stuff off, shaving the tighter spots with a single edged razor blade, after treating the leather to get it as flexible as possible.
I'd like to say soak it off, but in cases where I've seen a camera that was water damaged, the leather is often shrunk down a bit. Maybe this is the result of it being loose for too long, and maybe it it were pressed and glued down sooner, it may still cover, but let somebody who's done this more chime in here...
When you DO glue the stuff onto the better camera, don't trust it to lay flat. I'll usually clamp it down with a flat piece of wood with a layer of wax paper underneath to keep from accidentally gluing the wood down. I'll do the curved ends separately, bending and clamping a thin piece of plexiglass over it, again with a layer of wax paper under it, to make it lay flat and snug.
OK, how do you other guys remove the leather without wrecking it?
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Fallisphoto
Tinkerer
Username: Fallisphoto

Post Number: 292
Registered: 09-2006

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Posted on Saturday, February 16, 2013 - 01:54 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I insert an Xacto knife blade under the leather first, and after getting the edges loose with that, I use a razor blade in a special holder. the whole thing is thin, so I can get it under the leatherette without bending it too much. Just be patient and go slow. If disaster strikes anyway, go to a used book store and look at the leatherette on the vintage books until you see something that matches (nothing you can buy new will match). When you get it home, cut the cover off of the book and soak it until the leatherette comes off (they used water soluable glue to glue it on). If it shrinks, a little, it is no big deal since you will not have cut it yet.
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Fallisphoto
Tinkerer
Username: Fallisphoto

Post Number: 293
Registered: 09-2006

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Posted on Saturday, February 16, 2013 - 01:58 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Oh, forgot to mention it, but yeah, it's shellac.

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