My First Attempt

Harlee

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Sep 6, 2005
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Here's my first attempt at recovering my MG-1. I cut out the pattern, glued it on and now hope it will stay on. It's far from being called beautiful, but I'm learning as I go along. My next project is some maroon vinyl on my black MG-1. This first one was my "test" shot, so to speak. After that comes one of my GSN models.
 
What sort of material did you use? a very thin vinyl and from where? might be a nice little project for a rainy day.
Is the lens hood on the camera a Yashica original or something else, I'm trying to find one and have been told they cut off the corners of the images and block the exposure meter if they are too big :(
 
I utilized the old coverings as a pattern and simply layed over a piece of brown vinyl cut from a woman's brown vinyl purse I purchased from Good Will. The vinyl was a little thicker than I wanted, but it worked pretty well. I used a xacto knife to cut the pattern, but the real challenge was to find the proper glue. On an old clunker GS model, I used white tacky glue first; then tried some Elmer's spray adhesive, then some contact cement, and finally purchased a tube of 527 glue at a fabric store, which appears to be holding quite well. I tape the ends down with masking tape to let it dry in place and this seems to work out OK. The GSN model will be a little more difficult due to the small name plates which have to be cut in the pattern, if I choose to use them. The MG-1 doesn't have any, making the pattern a little easier to cut.

What I've learned thus far, is that the proper glue shouldn't set up to quickly, like contact cement, because you may have to move the cut vinyl around a bit to get it to fit properly. The thickness of the vinyl is also important, but while this was a little thicker than I wanted, it seemed to work work out OK. I tried to get some scrape pieces of vinyl at a fabric store, i.e., Joanne's, but the scrape pieces were too large - they'd probably cover 50 cameras. So, it appears that women's purses remain a good source, especially in various colors. I also purchased a vinyl covered 3 ring binder that may or may not work, I'll see. This one happened to be in blue, and I may try that on one of my GSNs. Pictures will follow as things progress.
 
Oh I forgot, the lens hood is a standard Hoya 55mm screw on type. I had several of them laying around along with a Yashsica slip-on metal hood with thumb screw for holding it in place. I like the location of the metering cell on the MG-1s better than the GSN/GTN models, and I can live with the F2.8 and shorter shutter speeds, which is around 2-3 seconds. It's interesting however, that the MG-1s prices are seeming to climb higher on Ebay with each passing day. I can still find some in pawn shops and second hand stores however. Both the GSN/GTN and the MG-1s are quite easy to put into working condition without too much hassel.
 
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