Liquid Tape and Leatherette

[wwkw]

It sounds like a sexy song, but I'm wondering if liquid tape is so adhering that it would tear leatherette upon its removal at a later date. The jar doesn't get into those sort of specifics.

Thank you in advance for sharing your knowledge.

 

[rick oleson]

I don't think it would, but there are lots of different kinds of leatherette: some are very tough, and some (especially from the 1980s) just fall apart on their own. I don't think the latter could survive removal of a piece of Scotch tape.

 

[wwkw]

I'm referring to the M6 leatherette specifically. I should have clarified, but figured most (CameraLeather, Aki-Asahi, etc.) were the same at this point.

 

[mdarnton]

I think the answer very much depends on what you're doing, which we don't know. If you're going to dip-paint an entire M6, then I don't think you'll be able to get it off the leather later. If you're using the liquid tape to fill a tiny hole, that can probably be carefully picked out later without much fuss.

 

[peterm1]

As a complete aside if you are repairing a hole in your vulcanite (the Leica kind of "leatherette") I have successfully used in the past a black roofing bitumen compound readily and cheaply available from hardware stores to fill small gaps in vulcanite on an early LTM camera and also on one of Leitz's 90mm lenses which had a ring of vulcanite around the base. I takes a few days or more depending on weather / ambient temperature to harden up and cure but when it does it has pretty much looks identical to the original vulcanite (which I think was a bitumen based compound and has a kind of almost flat black color, not shiny). In fact this slow drying time is an advantage in terms of being able to work the compound and shape it precisely to match the existing covering. No idea if it can be removed later however. In fact I hope not.

Liquid electrical tape should stick and look ok but is more shiny than the above. Can it be removed? I do not know for sure. Why not get a small leather off cut and place some LEQ on it then after it dries see if it can be removed with ease. This will give you some idea of its properties. As another aside if people get pinholes in their cloth shutter curtain LEQ is commonly used as a patch. I have done this myself. Which, on reflection, suggests it is more or less permanent or it could fall off inside the camera and I have never heard reports of this occurring.

 

[wwkw]

Re: Second paragraph (as the first refers to vulcanite).

I have a bottle of liquid tape that I purchased to use on my M4-2's DIN - ASA conversion dial when I replaced chipping vulcanite on its back plate with Aki-Asahi's 4008. For that it works great. I'm just concerned that using liquid tape on my M6's peeling leatherette's edges from being stuck in south Florida's humidity for a few months might result in me needing to replace it should it ever need to be removed (from tearing-- it adheres impressively). And I happen to like that '80's leatherette, and wouldn't want to damage it permanently, like (I hope) Terry Bozzio's wife didn't, impressive though her 'do may have been.