Restoring a very ugly Universal Roamer II Folder

[spanish_inquisition]

I am proud to announce that my camera restoration project is finally complete. I just have to test it and make sure that it can take pictures.
PS: Thanks to the guys who recommended Lexol for bellows conditioning.

http://panic.berkeley.edu/~ghe/DIY_Camera_Restoration/

 

[Bill58]

Congratulations for a fine, but tedious job. I've used Lexol for many years on my cowboy boots, shoes and belts and it's always given me superb results. It's good stuff.

I hope you'll post some pics from it too.

 

[Jerevan]

E-bay ugly indeed. 🙂 You did a nice job! Post some photos when you get to try a roll of film or two.

 

[spanish_inquisition]

Congratulations for a fine, but tedious job. I've used Lexol for many years on my cowboy boots, shoes and belts and it's always given me superb results. It's good stuff.

I hope you'll post some pics from it too.

Thanks a lot Bill

I think you were the one who recommended Lexol to me in the first place.
I gave some to one of my coworkers for the leather seats in his old Alfa Romeo.

 

[TheHub]

I love reading stories like that. Fascinating and heart-warming to see a beat-up old camera restored to its former self 🙂

 

[oftheherd]

Great job! Looking forward to seeing photos from the camera.

 

[ZeissFan]

I'm very impressed. Excellent restoration job. That's the first successful application of WD-40 on a camera. Generally, that stuff is to be avoided. In fact, WD-40 and cameras should never be used in the same sentence.

I think the restored camera looks great. Nice job cleaning the lenses, too.

Regarding that covering. I like that particular pattern, although I think the price has risen. I thought I paid $12 for that a few years ago. Well, supply, demand, profit, capitalism and all that.

 

[spanish_inquisition]

Had to re-shim the lens

Had to re-shim the lens

Great job! Looking forward to seeing photos from the camera.

I shot and developed a roll of Neopan 400. Everything was out of focus. I had to move some shim plates around and double checked focus with a piece of parafilm taped to the back. Everything looks good now. I will shoot another roll tomorrow and post pictures when things are in focus.

 

[spanish_inquisition]

First decent roll of photos from the Roamer II

First decent roll of photos from the Roamer II

I finally got around to scanning them. I think I have some stability issues on the tripod (these were exposed early in the morning).
picasaweb.google.com/gheghe/UniversalRoamerIIFirstRoll#

 

[ChristopherCoy]

I'm resurrecting this thread because I just bought one of these.

I took a $20 chance on this on eBay. It came with the box and looked somewhat taken care of, but of course the seller "didn't know much about cameras."

For the most part it looks like its in good shape. Minimal rust spots, lens looks mostly clear, leather is all in tact, bellows appear to be in good shape, shutter release moves up and down easily... However the shutter appears to be stuck, along with the aperture blades.

I figured out how to unscrew the lens and get to the mechanisms but that's as far as I'm willing to go, as I have ZERO repair experience. From the pictures below, does this look repairable? Or should I chalk it up to a $20 piece of junky home decor?

Would anyone be willing to help me get the shutter operable for a nominal fee and a case of beer?



Untitled by ChristopherCoy, on Flickr