Red window material?

[Muggins]

Can anyone suggest a source of red plastic suitable for making replacement red windows from? They are more for completeness than functionality, but it would be nice to find something I could use for a couple of my junkster cameras missing theirs. Fundamentally it needs to be thin, red, hard, and easy to cut to shape.
Thanks in anticipation!

 

[Vince Lupo]

Would rubylith film work? Only thing is that it’s not ‘hard’ like a plastic.

Rubylith Masking Film (+/-) 15x40

Rubylith®brand masking films are "light safe" knife cut films coated onto a polyester backing sheet. These films can be cut manually or on a plotter to produce masks for film contacting and plate making and film positives for photographic stencil production. Rubylith® is a red masking film...

shop.archsupplies.com

 

[Johngwill]

Have a look at lighting gel filters. Right thickness, many colors available, easy to cut. I use a hole punch of the diameter required.

 

[raydm6]

Best answer in this thread.

120 Camera restoration - film view window

<p>Looking to fix up an old 120 roll camera (Ensign Autorange 220 - beautiful machine) but the red plastic window on the rear door has been split at somepoint. I know I could just tape over it, and as this camera only needs it to find frame number 1, it should all work fine, but I'd rather ...

www.photo.net

Red Bingo chip!!

 

[p.giannakis]

Just bumping up this thread with a DIY idea.

The red window on my Agfa Isolette II has turned cloudy and has some scratches that makes seeing the numbers difficult.

I used polywatch - a product for polishing acrylic watch glass. It works by softening the plastic and filling in any scratches.


You probably have to be careful with plastic of a certain vintage - if it is celluloid based, it melts completely and needs throwing away. So I wouldn't try it to any camera windows before the 1950s.

It has worked well in my case. The obligatory before and after picture.

 

[Muggins]

Nice job!

I did eventually buy some thin sheet plastic, if you ever need a red window I have enough for about a thousand!