How to treat old stiff bellows to make them softer

[spanish_inquisition]

HI Everyone

I got my hands on a very rough looking Universal Roamer II. I took the whole thing apart and figure out what I have to do to bring it back to life. The bellows seem to lack holes, but are very dry and stiff. Do you know of any solution that I could use to make them softer and less likely to break. Any advice regarding old bellows would be greatly appreciated. I will let you all know how the home-made CLA went.

Ghe

 

[Roger Hicks]

Leather balm, as sold for expensive leatherware.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Nikon Bob]

If there is a saddle/tack shop in your area they might have some suitable products for leather. I seem to recall using pure Neatsfoot Oil on leather when we had horses.

Bob

 

[Bill58]

Try repeated applications of Lexol, available at most good shoe/ boot repair/ sale shops. It's non-greasy. Follow the directions!

 

[sahe69]

Mink oil?

10 crctrs

 

[sevo]

Bellows were only made from real leather up into the thirties - and even these are 1/3 leather, layered with paper and cotton cloth. Most younger ones replaced the split leather outer with leather substitutes or sheet vinyl - and these are the ones that most often have become brittle, as the softeners have evaporated.

Be careful with leather care products on vinyl bellows - these won't help and might even draw the remaining softeners from the plastics. There are sprays to freshen up vinyl coverings in old cars, which will do a better job at least for the moment. But nothing will really get inside a polymer - in the long run, you'll need a replacement if you want to use the camera.

 

[spanish_inquisition]

Try repeated applications of Lexol, available at most good shoe/ boot repair/ sale shops. It's non-greasy. Follow the directions!

Thanks a lot guys

I got a 200mL bottle of Lexol Leather conditioner and it worked out pretty well. The bellows are made of fabric coated with resin (not real leather) but Lexol softened it up nicely (ok, not soft soft, but it's softer and more stretchy). It also cleaned it up well. Here's a snapshot after the treatment (don't have a good pre-treatment photo).

Thanks again everyone