FallisPhoto
Veteran
Just discovered a great adhesive for releathering cameras. The stuff is called "Loctite Stick N Seal." It's a form of contact cement that doesn't have one of most contact cement's biggest drawbacks -- it gives you some time to work with it. With other contact cements, once the glue goes on, you only have five seconds or so before it sets up; then that's it, it's permanent. The Loctite stuff doesn't dry anywhere near as fast, and you've got about a minute to move the leather around and slide it up tight to the edges before it hardens.
It comes out of the tube white, then dries clear. This is a big plus when working with black leather, since you can easily see what you're doing, how thickly it is going on, and exactly where it's going. You can also clean it up with water -- until it dries. This means I don't have to go out and buy 50 brushes at a time anymore.
I may never buy another jar of Pliobond.
It comes out of the tube white, then dries clear. This is a big plus when working with black leather, since you can easily see what you're doing, how thickly it is going on, and exactly where it's going. You can also clean it up with water -- until it dries. This means I don't have to go out and buy 50 brushes at a time anymore.
I may never buy another jar of Pliobond.
bucks11
Established
Might have to try this one out. I've only redone one camera in the past, but with contact cement it was a job. Maybe that's why i've only done one. 
Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for the tip!
literiter
Well-known
Can the stuff be removed fairly easily after it sets up? I'm just thinking of the leather on a Rolleiflex which has to be taken apart often to service.
I've had great success with shellac, which can be removed with alcohol. I buy the flakes, dissolve in a small bit of alcohol to a syrup consistency, then apply to the leather and the camera. The leather becomes more pliable when damp with alcohol and it always drys quite fast.
Pliobond (I think) was used on some of my older cameras to attach the leather. It would come off only with much scraping with a razor and in one really foul case I had to use paint stripper.
I've had great success with shellac, which can be removed with alcohol. I buy the flakes, dissolve in a small bit of alcohol to a syrup consistency, then apply to the leather and the camera. The leather becomes more pliable when damp with alcohol and it always drys quite fast.
Pliobond (I think) was used on some of my older cameras to attach the leather. It would come off only with much scraping with a razor and in one really foul case I had to use paint stripper.
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FallisPhoto
Veteran
It sticks pretty good, but not so tight that you can't get it off.
Well, I'd have some problems with that. Many leather dyes are soluable in alcohol, and I would prefer an adhesive that does not dry fast. I'd like to have a minute or two so I can reposition the piece of leather, which is my biggest problem with Pliobond. I don't particularly care about how easy it is to remove, because persistance can pretty much always get anything off, and I can, obviously, just cut another piece of leather if that one gets ruined.
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literiter
Well-known
I've never tried anything but black leather, so far and mostly old leather I removed from the camera.
Of course I've never thought of dyes running with shellac. Will be cautious now.
Thanks.
Ron G
Member
I just bought a 1/2 pint of Pliobond figuring that I would be set for life.LOL.
I have not used any of it yet because I could not buy it when I needed it.
I have been using a tube of "Goo" made by the Walthers company which is kind of a rubberized adhesive that never gets so hard that you cannot remove it again,a very important property to me)
I plan to buy some of those sponge or rubber foam applicators when I see a good buy on them and just discard them after using.I will be looking at the Locktite line,they are local to me here in Connecticut.Thanks for the headsup.Ron G
I have not used any of it yet because I could not buy it when I needed it.
I have been using a tube of "Goo" made by the Walthers company which is kind of a rubberized adhesive that never gets so hard that you cannot remove it again,a very important property to me
)I plan to buy some of those sponge or rubber foam applicators when I see a good buy on them and just discard them after using.I will be looking at the Locktite line,they are local to me here in Connecticut.Thanks for the headsup.Ron G
charjohncarter
Veteran
Hey thanks for posting this.
hanskerensky
Well-known
Thanks for starting this thread. Very interesting reading. Must have a look if that Locktite stuff is available in the shops over here.
swoop
Well-known
I've always wanted to see a Leica covered in Louis Vutton leather.
Murray Kelly
Well-known
Not exactly OnT but I have a IIIg donated and back from CLA, minus the black covering. Actually looks quite nice the way it is, but I've always said I'd like a covering more 'fun'-like so's the grandchildren wouldn't freeze when I produced it. Maybe a red or sky blue or emerald green. I have actually ordered a black (no choice) recovering from Aki-Asahi but would like to try something else myself first.
I know it needs thin (0.7mm) skin and that itself is a hurdle, but as I look at it I muse as to the undercut of the various parts that I would have to go around - that is, it looks like .5mm or so. I mean the knobs on the front and the film reminder on the back, and the lugs.
Armed with the advice of the Locktite glue, thanks to the OP, it would be nice to hear what the frequent re-coverers allow for this undercut.
Thanks in advance
Murray
I know it needs thin (0.7mm) skin and that itself is a hurdle, but as I look at it I muse as to the undercut of the various parts that I would have to go around - that is, it looks like .5mm or so. I mean the knobs on the front and the film reminder on the back, and the lugs.
Armed with the advice of the Locktite glue, thanks to the OP, it would be nice to hear what the frequent re-coverers allow for this undercut.
Thanks in advance
Murray
FallisPhoto
Veteran
Actually, I think .7mm is a little on the thick side. I'd prefer something between 0.3mm and 0.5mm. This is a kidskin leather from the guy whose stuff I usually buy, and it's between 0.3 and 0.4mm thick:
Obviously, that was a basic black morrocco leather. He does have it in red and a few other colors and finishes though. Here's a red russian leather:
Or if you really like the look of your camera with no covering, he's got metallic silver, metallic bronze, metallic gold, and a bunch of other metallic colors (red, blue, yellow, salmon, pink, orange and etcetera). Anyway, the guy is on ebay and goes by the user name of "Fashion Leathers International." If you prefer, you can just go to ebay and search for goat hide and he'll pop up a lot.
Murray Kelly
Well-known
Thanx FallisPhoto, I will go look after I attend to the home network collapsing this afternoon!
Am I correct in assuming there is approximately .5mm undercut on these knobs etc or don't you worry?
Murray
Am I correct in assuming there is approximately .5mm undercut on these knobs etc or don't you worry?
Murray
FallisPhoto
Veteran
Thanx FallisPhoto, I will go look after I attend to the home network collapsing this afternoon!
Am I correct in assuming there is approximately .5mm undercut on these knobs etc or don't you worry?
Murray
Unless it has been releathered, there is at least a slight undercut. The exact measurement isn't that important, as long as there is one, as long as you can't look under the knobs (when they are installed) and see edges, and as long as the hole is centered -- and that goes for all cameras, not just GIIIs. Some camera manufacturers make a slit on the side of a really tiny hole and make it fit right up against the knob's shaft. The slit is so they can get the knob through the tiny hole. It works okay, as long as you can align the edges just right and hide the slit. Aside from that, what is important is that the leather be thin enough to allow the knobs and things to turn without interference, that it doesn't stick up past the edges of the surround, and that it be tight against the aforementioned surround. You also want to avoid leathers that are so soft they will snag easily. If you can do all that, and install it without wrinkles, you're golden.
FallisPhoto
Veteran
hanskerensky
Well-known
Just wanted to give the Stik'n Seal a try but it's not sold here in The Netherlands or (nearby) Germany. As Loctite is from Henkel i did have a look at the Henkel adhesive products in our shops most of which are sold under the brandname Pattex. Sure enough found something that comes very close. It's called Pattex Repair Extreme.
I'll try it out and see what the long time behavior is.
I'll try it out and see what the long time behavior is.
Bill58
Native Texan
I can get a ton of fake Louis Vuitton vinyl for you here, but no real leather. Korea is full of fake designer label s____.
Great tip about the Loctite stuff. Everything that company makes is fine quality, but hard to obtain here.
Edward C. Zimmermann
Nerd
Lacking suitable cement why not use what people use to attach their tires to rims: tubular mastic. Shellac (which was once commonly used on the track) works fine as an adhesive but dries quite hard and once the bond breaks its breaks. Tubular mastic is always sticky and does not dry out or get too hard. One can thin it down with some hexane . Its similar to Pliobond but tackier.
hanskerensky
Well-known
I have heard that a German glue for shoeleather and rubber called Kövulfix should also be very good. Did you ever try that Edward ?
Edward C. Zimmermann
Nerd
Of course. Its very good. Its what I use to glue rubber to leather so I try to always have some handy. It also works relatively well (for the cyclists among us) at re-attaching base-tape as its pliable but provides a stronger bond than the tubular mastic.
For leather to leather I use Hirschkleber.
hanskerensky
Well-known
Thanks for that info Edward. As the Kövulfix is also available here in The Netherlands i'll surely give that a try in the future !