Bellows maintenance

[Planapo]

Somehow I like bellows. They remind me of the old ways of photography, and of these large format cameras like Hasselblads, Linhofs, Sinars etc. that I have been interested in from teenage days on, but never have had the opportunity to "play" with.

Today, when I occasionally come across a nice bellows for a price too good to pass up, I am tempted to 'rescue' it and consequently, have some of them in my cabinet now, lately prompting my friend to call me a "bellows fetishist" and to speculate that "maybe it´s the black leather?!"

Well yeah, actually it is the black leather that I am a bit concerned about. Most of my bellows appear to be made of a combination of leather on the outside and a textile material on the inside. Taking into consideration that some of these leathery parts are older than me, and I myself need a slap of Nivea from time to time to prevent my skin from drying out, especially in the dry air inside of houses with central heating during the winter, I fear that the leather of the bellows could harden and eventually break.

Now, I ask myself how one should nourish the leather of the bellows to prevent them from becoming brittle. Of course it should be a substance that doesn´t evaporate chemicals that could eventually condense on parts of the camera or the lens. Does anybody of you know a remedy that can be safely applied for the intended purpose?

Thanks in advance for any of your help to keep my black leather smooth!

--Betty

[DaveW]

Hi Betty,

See:-

http://mattdentonphoto.com/cameras/restoration_inst.pdf

DaveW

[Planapo]

Thanks for the interesting link, Dave.

So 'leather conditioner' that's what is used. But unfortunately without a brand name it´s a bit difficult to pick one that is safe.

Reading again what I ´ve written above I perhaps should add that it´s not bellows of old large format cameras that I have. It´s bellows for 35 mm cameras, like e. g. the Olympus OM bellows similar to Nikon PB-6, and other for M42, that can be put to good use with modern DSLR and that I don´t want to ruin by applying the wrong product.

--Betty

[Charles Krebs]

Betty,

It's possible (likely) that some of the bellows you have are not really leather but a vinyl(plastic)/cloth combination. There are any number of good leather preservatives and softeners for real leather bellows, but they do nothing for the synthetic ones.

I don't really know of any product that is sure to soften and preserve vinyl-type bellows. Some have tried automotive vinyl products like ArmorAll. These may help, but they may also "out-gas" and leave a film so I would never use them inside the bellows.

I used ArmorAll on one of my view camera bellows once. Can't say it did any good, but it didn't hurt anything.

[DaveW]

If vinyl or some other plastic do you need any preservative at all? Apart from the remote possibility of failure or holes at the folds through extended folding and unfolding in use surely they do not deteriorate like untreated leather anyway?

Just done a web search and one chap recommended this for vinyl bellows:-

http://www.eeuroparts.com/productdetail ... &code=4062

Another says:-

"For bellows I have been using Turtle Wax F21 super protectant it restores both leather, vinyl and plastic. Use Q-tips and apply sparingly use a couple of coats if needed."

Obviously I have never used either, so adopt the above ideas with caution.

DaveW

[Charles Krebs]

If vinyl or some other plastic do you need any preservative at all?

Probably not. Potential problems for this type of material could be UV radiation and ozone. Not an issue for "macro" bellows used indoors, but a potential issue for a view camera used outdoors. This is where a vinyl "protector" may be of some value.

The longevity of this type of bellows is probably more dependent on things that are not in our control.... the quality and type of material used by the manufacturer. I still have quite a few view cameras (gathering dust now, unfortunately ). On at least one occasion I have had a "vinyl" based bellows develop pinholes at the corners of the pleats, even though it was otherwise little, and carefully, used. It seemed to be an obvious failure in the material. And I have some that are so worn looking you would think they would be a light sieve, but they remain light tight.

[Planapo]

Thanks for your further comments, Charlie and Dave!

I´ve found that silicone oils are also components of some leather conditioners. Thus a silicone oil based vinyl/rubber conditioner for use on car interior like AmorAll that you´ve mentioned, shouldn´t do any harm to the leathery (if at all they are) parts of the bellows material, even though not especially recommended for leather.

I think I will try such a conditioner. Sparingly applied on the outside of the bellows only, and thereafter venting to allow any volatile components to escape before using the bellows again, then there should be no risk of making things worse.

--Betty