traveler_101
American abroad
Bessa R owners/former owners:
How did you handle the plastic coated door on the camera. Is there anything that preserves the coating? Did you finally replace it?
Mine is is surprisingly good condition, though it has some hairline fractures in it and it "sweats" on occasion. It's a pretty darned stupid kind of surface to put on a camera - smooth and potentially slippery, though mine has not yet begun to become sticky to touch, which I hear lies inevitably in the future. Any suggestions/experiences?
How did you handle the plastic coated door on the camera. Is there anything that preserves the coating? Did you finally replace it?
Mine is is surprisingly good condition, though it has some hairline fractures in it and it "sweats" on occasion. It's a pretty darned stupid kind of surface to put on a camera - smooth and potentially slippery, though mine has not yet begun to become sticky to touch, which I hear lies inevitably in the future. Any suggestions/experiences?
awbphotog
Well-known
My R has the same issue you describe, and I have yet to do anything about it because it hasn't become tacky either. I agree, somewhat of a silly decision as far as materials used goes, but I don't find mine to be slippery at all. I actually use the bottom plate from a Ricoh SLR (KR-5 Super II) that uses the same body as the R, and that works fine...so I wonder if a film door from the same body would work as a direct replacement. If so, it would be quite handsome but would lack the built in grip. If I can find my old KR-5, I'll try it out soon and report back. Could be a cheap, fun DIY. Cheers.
Andy
Austintatious
Well-known
The back on my R has never cracked, but did become sticky. I used ethyl alcohol and a lot of "elbow greese" to clean it up. Not as pretty now, but no longer sticky. Goes along with the paint loss around the strap lugs. Looks a bit rough, but still a damn fine shooter.
charjohncarter
Veteran
I'm not good on searches especially on RFF. But I remember someone had this problem and had a fairly simple fix. It did include removing the back material.
I have a Bessa R and it is OK for now, I keep mine in the case and only handle the back when putting in film and removing film.
I have a Bessa R and it is OK for now, I keep mine in the case and only handle the back when putting in film and removing film.
Pioneer
Veteran
My Bessa R has been in a case most of its life so I don't have a problem.
Solinar
Analog Preferred
Except for some paint rub around the shutter button, mine is fine after 10 years of use. In other words, the camera has weathered better than I gave it credit for when I bought it used.
I do what you mean by the smooth covering on the back door. I use the O.E.M. grip - which allows the attachment of a wrist strap on the right side of the camera.
I do what you mean by the smooth covering on the back door. I use the O.E.M. grip - which allows the attachment of a wrist strap on the right side of the camera.
John E Earley
Tuol Sleng S21-0174
I had the same problem with a Nikon N80 and my solution was to clean the back with alcohol and coat it wit ArmorAll Conditioner, the type used for car dashboards and trim bits.
traveler_101
American abroad
Yeah, Armorall that should work. And I forgot that I have one of the head bartender's camera cases. After much rooting around, I found it and it doesn't look too bad on the camera.
tktk
Member
I melted the back of a Bessa R with Goof Off. Turns out I should have used Goo Gone instead.
The back off a Nikon FM10 was a perfect replacement. Used it for years without a problem. The Olympus OM2000 back may also be suitable.
The back off a Nikon FM10 was a perfect replacement. Used it for years without a problem. The Olympus OM2000 back may also be suitable.
traveler_101
American abroad
Good to know. Where did you get the door from?
tktk
Member
Ebay. Just did a search for "Nikon FM10 door" and got lucky. If not, I would have just bought a broken one for the part.
traveler_101
American abroad
Update on this thread for anyone out there that might be interested.
My solution, as far as it goes: I used an ordinary vinyl protectorate from an auto supply store and it seems to have helped stop the "sweating" and stabilised the surface . . . perhaps. Interestingly, after the treatment the suface shows more scuff marks than when I received the camera - someone must have used alcohol on it to deepen the black colour.
It is fine as is for now, but I still don't "like" the surface. I probably won't do anything as long as the door holds up, but here are some further responses to a couple of your suggestions for a replacement:
Good suggestion, but it appears to me that it is practically identical in material to the door I have.
Thanks and I agree that would be a great looking back door to have on the camera! Don't care about grips, particularly when you have a good surface to hold onto. Here is photo of the Ricoh . . .
My solution, as far as it goes: I used an ordinary vinyl protectorate from an auto supply store and it seems to have helped stop the "sweating" and stabilised the surface . . . perhaps. Interestingly, after the treatment the suface shows more scuff marks than when I received the camera - someone must have used alcohol on it to deepen the black colour.
It is fine as is for now, but I still don't "like" the surface. I probably won't do anything as long as the door holds up, but here are some further responses to a couple of your suggestions for a replacement:
Good suggestion, but it appears to me that it is practically identical in material to the door I have.
Thanks and I agree that would be a great looking back door to have on the camera! Don't care about grips, particularly when you have a good surface to hold onto. Here is photo of the Ricoh . . .
Uglee
Established
After reading through this thread I purchased an R with visible damage to the rear door coating otherwise the camera is in like new condition. I also ordered a Nikon FM10 door just in case. So I tried the above mentioned solutions starting with Armorall. Unfortunately this left the surface both sticky and greasy. The surface basically resembled the residue of deteriorated light seals and was now showing holes through the coating.
Since I had the FM10 door on order, I decided to clean it up with a rag soaked with denatured alcohol. This worked great. The door surface has a nice matte black finish. I noticed that the body of the camera was sticky so I cleaned it too. The alcohol removed the dull tacky coating leaving the surface plastic looking like new.
When I received the FM10 door, I found it to be no better than the Bessa's, so I cleaned off the surface on it too. It only takes a few minutes to make it look like new, however if your used to the feeling of the rubber coating, you may not like the feel of the plastic surface. I would have avoided all of this buy using a half case but then I would not be able to use the accessory hand grip.
So if anyone is looking for a lower priced Bessa, you might consider those with ugly door coatings that are otherwise in good condition.
Since I had the FM10 door on order, I decided to clean it up with a rag soaked with denatured alcohol. This worked great. The door surface has a nice matte black finish. I noticed that the body of the camera was sticky so I cleaned it too. The alcohol removed the dull tacky coating leaving the surface plastic looking like new.
When I received the FM10 door, I found it to be no better than the Bessa's, so I cleaned off the surface on it too. It only takes a few minutes to make it look like new, however if your used to the feeling of the rubber coating, you may not like the feel of the plastic surface. I would have avoided all of this buy using a half case but then I would not be able to use the accessory hand grip.
So if anyone is looking for a lower priced Bessa, you might consider those with ugly door coatings that are otherwise in good condition.
traveler_101
American abroad
Thanks for posting!
I haven't gone any further with this, but you have inspired me to get on it.
What I want to do is get ahold of the denatured alcohol or an equivalent, dissolve the rear coating and order a pre-cut leatherette covering. I found this site http://www.cameraleather.com/online_ordering.htm) that sells kits for many cameras, it says the following about the Bessas. "Some of these only have leather on the front, and some also have a small grip piece on the back." This discouraged me at first, but I noticed that the back of my Bessa T, which unlike the R is covered in leatherette, is exactly the same dimensions as the Bessa R. So potentially I could order a T kit and use it to cover the R back.
The issue is the grip. T and R have different grips. So my question is: when you removed the plastic coating was the grip moulded into the door or was it removable?
I also have to figure out what resembles "denatured alcohol" here in Norway.
Uglee
Established
Traveler 101,
The rear thumb grip is molded into the door of the R. For alcohol, anything strong enough to be sold in a hardware store and not found in the cosmetic section of a drug store should work. Denatured alcohol is a poisoned version invented by our government during prohibition to kill off anyone desperate enough to try to distill it. It works very well in removing light seals.
The rear thumb grip is molded into the door of the R. For alcohol, anything strong enough to be sold in a hardware store and not found in the cosmetic section of a drug store should work. Denatured alcohol is a poisoned version invented by our government during prohibition to kill off anyone desperate enough to try to distill it. It works very well in removing light seals.
traveler_101
American abroad
Thanks, uglee. I will have to try cutting my own piece of leatherette to fit the door then. By the way, Norway is no better about alcohol than we are/have been. Indeed it much worse these days. It is the only other western country to have had prohibition, and today isopropyl alcohol is priced as if it were drinkable alcohol. A small bottle is $15. This prevents people from getting a cheap drunk off it.
I suppose you removed the door before subjecting it to the denatured alcohol?
newt_on_swings
Member
My back is progressively ripping apart chunk by chunk. I think in the future when it gets really bad I will try and use spray on plasti dip on it or liquid electrical tape. It should mimic the rubber material and conform to the grip protrusion. Plus it's removable.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
joe bosak
Well-known
I cleaned up my Bessa R rear door using isopropyl alcohol [from an aerosol can], there seemed no need to remove the door just be careful. It took quite a while and a lot of repetitive rubbing to dissolve the rubber.
I also rubbed the front over a few times - although the front doesn't seem to be coated in the same substance [I think], a good deal of stickiness from the back seemed to have been transferred there by the previous owner.
bmattock
Veteran
Cosina made a lot of cameras on the same pattern, it seems. A lot of Cosina-made backs from other camera companies look to me as if the might work.
Uglee
Established
I did not bother to remove the door when I removed the coating. I simply worked in one area at a time. The entire process took about 15 minutes for both the rear door and body. I really like the finish with out the tacky coating even though it is clearly plastic composite, it is of a high quality and does not look out of place.