Fed 3(a) shutter curtain repair - Liquid electrical tape worked!

[picker77]

Read lots about all the methods to patch up a curtain, but this has been my only attempt. Here's a sample of the problem with my Fed 3(a) - light leaks outlined in red:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/picker77/2601514186/

Went to work (carefully) with Star Brite black liquid electrical tape, three coats. This stuff is thin, opaque, and very flexible when cured. Next day, I shot a test roll and the leaks were nowhere to be found. Here's a sample:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/picker77/2600687471/

I also cut out a 100% enlarged crop of one of the flowers in the lower right hand corner of this sample test photo just to see if the beat up old Industar 26m on this camera was reasonable sharp:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/picker77/2601517794/

I'm no experienced lens judge, but for my purposes this is probably sharp enough, especially since the crop was extracted from a corner area of a home-scanned 4552x3008 image. The flat bed scanner may be limiting things, too. These were all 35mm BW400CN negatives developed by Wally World and scanned on my Epson V500 at 48 bit depth and 3200 dpi.

I realize the rubber layer on the curtain will eventually continue to self destruct and I'll have to replace the entire thing one of these days, but in the meantime it's a good shooter. Anyway, thanks to all RF'ers who provided the great DIY repair tips!

 

[fidget]

Hi Picker77,
welcome to the forum and congratulations on such a fix on your curtains.

The FED3a is one of my favourite cameras. There used to be a web site which showed beautifully restored and some reworked FEDs, many in black and all perfect. Was it Jim Blazik's site? Sadly missed but perhaps better for all those who saw it and fell into unrelenting GAS. Did you see it?

(anyone got link to a backup?)

 

[picker77]

Thanks, Fidget. My fix is admittedly crude, but it does work - at least for now. When I get ambitious enough to try it I'll read up on getting into the shutter crate and put new curtains in it. I'm not about to try that yet! Speeds are also occasionally inconsistent at 1/2 sec and slower, but that doesn't bother me much because I almost never shoot slower than 1/60 anyway, and don't even understand why they put anthing slower than 1/30 on these cameras.

It's only been a couple of months since I succumbed to the rangefinder syndrome, so I'm a babe in the woods, although I've fooled with reflex cameras for 40 years or more. As a result, I'm not familiar with the website you spoke of.

I bought a very lightly used brown skin Fed 3b from the same source where I bought this 3a, and the 3b surprisingly turned out to actually be very close to the promised "like new" condition. Everything worked fine on it, but while I was test firing the shutter many times after I got it, the rear curtain's bottom ribbon suddenly turned loose and I ended up with a giant wrinkle in the curtain. This camera is so nice I decided to have it professionally repaired and CLA'd, so sent it to Yuri at Fedka a couple of days ago. Before I sent it I checked the film plane to lens distance with a very accurate digital caliper, and it was 28.82mm, which I think is within Fed's factory specs of 28.8 +/- .02mm. The 3a is another case, it's nowhere near factory specs and is going to eventually need some leveling and shimming, but that's ok, it's my guinea pig camera anyway.

I also have what looks to be a super nice unmodified Zorki 6 en route, but it's taking forever to get here, so I hope things aren't going wrong with that deal.

Last but not least (do all people new to RF's go nuts like this at first?), I recently acquired my first Voigtlander, an incredibly sweet and tiny little Vitomatic II that is just an absolute jewel to use, and is so well built and finely finished it's hard to believe it's not a little Leica. It's about 2/3 the size of a Fed, but feels like it actually weighs more, and the precision build and feel is something to behold for a camera that cost maybe 60 British pounds new. The metal finish is akin to the feel of silk. I really like these old FSU rangefinders, but by gosh Voigtlander and Leica and Zeiss obviously had it right back in the 50's, and the Russians were smart enough to copy them. If I save my allowance maybe someday an M3 or M2 will even come my way.

 

[brachal]

Welcome! FSU rangefinders in particular seem to make people go a little crazy. I started with a Fed 5, then realized I need a couple more after the first one started scratching negatives. I gave one away, which left me with only two Fed 5s. Then I needed a Fed-2, because everybody raved about them. A nice camera, but not quite what I needed, so I ended up with a couple of Kievs. I eventually bought a Fed-3b in Prague, and it's turned out to be my favorite FSU camera ... although I think I may need at least one Zorki for the collection. Other rangefinders (Bessa, LTM Leica) haven't prompted nearly as much silliness.

 

[mravigna]

You can also use black textile paint

You can also use black textile paint

I have used this on my Fed 1 and also on very badly worn out Exakta curtain (full of pin holes) and and seems to be holding out.

 

[oftheherd]

Thanks for the plug for the liquid tape. I used some a while back to waterproof an electrical connection, and was immediatly struck with the idea I might be able to make bellows repairs with it. I hadn't tried it yet so I wasn't sure. Now I am more inclined to want to use it. I have an 8x10 bellows I have never used because when you shine a light along the corners it looks like a star chart. Maybe there is hope.

 

[picker77]

Hi, oftheherd. Yes the stuff works great, but one coat won't do it. I was worried about how thick it looked after I applied it, but as it "cured" over an hour or two it thinned waaay down, and although the first coat gave 100% coverage of all the leaks, they still showed (they were covered, but were still sort of a translucent gray) when a very strong flashlight was used in a dark room. So I applied a second coat, which did the trick. The third coat (over the worst leaks) was just for insurance. I wouldn't be at all afraid to tackle a bellows repair with it. I tested it first by spreading it on about a 1" square area of a scap piece of common fiberglass window screen (the soft flexible stuff), and two coats covered great and remained very flexible afterwards. After that I was convinced it would work on a shutter. I suppose a few dozen rolls of film and some time will tell the final tale.

 

[optikhit]

Hi Guys. Is the liquid electrical tape common and sold in any market? I have the same problem with my Fed3a. However I tried to repaint it with oil in an atom pen...LOL, It looks working.

 

[picker77]

Here's one of many places you can get the Star Brite brand I used: http://shopping.rexmar.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=starbrite

If you Google it you'll find many other places, including ACE Hardware, etc. etc. -- comes in clear, white, red, green and black. You probably should stick with black unless you are fixing a red curtain Leica, in which case you'd drive a Beemer and not be hanging around this forum. 🙂

 

[Grandpaspix]

Thanks to picker77 and offtheherd for ideas on repairing the shutter curtain on my 5b... I will re post in a few days after I find some liquid electrical tape and make the repair.

 

[Rhodes]

I used normal black electrical tape on my fed-2, but didn't yet take pictures to see if it worked!But is good to know that this kinds of repairs work!

 

[Spider67]

Sorry folks a short rant......when you ask for liquid electrical tape in Austria you could ask for nessie, the pink elephant and the perpetuum mobile...even when the shop you're asking for it is full of Emos, punks, skaters and you-name it-they-are-theres you suddenly are the odd person out as soon as you ask for it. Oh yes there is liquid latex.....for those who like to apply it to their heavenly unclothed bodies....and I was told more than once by paintshop owners to go to those shoppes o' vice. Googling it shows me a company in Uk.....that sadly does not ship outside of the UK.......
Textile colour unfortunately was no permanent fix as it was to brittle and was off at the last ten pics.....Ok Trombone of desperation laid aside welcome to the forum and congrats on this quick and easy fix!
Greetings from "oh you are going to a western country don't forget to bring back Coca Cola and Liquid electrical....." Vienna
Des