Jbennett68
Established
Worth the risk to the old leather to attempt pulling it back to clean up the Zeiss bumps on an 86 year old camera? There are 5-6 bumps but the leather is in good shape. If I tear it in the process there is no replacing it with a Zeiss embossed replacement. I'd likely have to cut replacement skin myself because no one makes it for the Tenax II.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
There is an old saying from the Great Depression, "You could put all I know about [insert subject here] on the head of a pin and you would still have room for the Lord's Prayer. For most of the audience, during the Great Depression there were fellows with a common pin which had engraved upon it the Lord's Prayer. It would be in a pin cushion and have a magnifying glass propped over it. For a penny you could look through the glass at the print.
OK, so what this means is I really do not know much about [insert subject here], in this case the leather on your camera. I am thinking a solvent to dissolve the glue but not harm the leather is in order here. But, head of pin. Cobblers, handbag repair shops, jewelers could possibly know. Oleg in Poland who works on Contax could possibly do this. I cannot speak for you but if it were my camera I would take it to a proven professional. It's a very rare camera. It demands a very rare level of care. Good luck. Keep us posted!
OK, so what this means is I really do not know much about [insert subject here], in this case the leather on your camera. I am thinking a solvent to dissolve the glue but not harm the leather is in order here. But, head of pin. Cobblers, handbag repair shops, jewelers could possibly know. Oleg in Poland who works on Contax could possibly do this. I cannot speak for you but if it were my camera I would take it to a proven professional. It's a very rare camera. It demands a very rare level of care. Good luck. Keep us posted!
Coldkennels
Barnack-toting Brit.
I've seen walkthroughs of how to do this properly, because I've considered doing it myself. It definitely isn't easy and takes time and care. Not all technicians would deem it worth the time - and some prefer to cut the leather, making a cross-shape over the bump to peel the leather back, expose the bump, and clean it up before sticking the leather down. Obviously, that's far from the best option. In fact, I'd consider it something of a crime. Henry Scherer has written a bit about it here: The Zeiss Ikon Contax Camera Repair Website - Servicing A Contax IIA/IIIA - Leather
It's worth bearing in mind that even if you get the leather off, there's no guarantee it hasn't stretched beyond repair, and might not look right when put back anyway. You also have to treat and seal the metal underneath to make sure it doesn't just create more lumps down the line!
It's worth bearing in mind that even if you get the leather off, there's no guarantee it hasn't stretched beyond repair, and might not look right when put back anyway. You also have to treat and seal the metal underneath to make sure it doesn't just create more lumps down the line!
My Contax IIIa had Zeiss bumps when I got it, and during a refurb operation by Steve Serota the bumps were removed using the cutting method described. I just dug it out to examine its back surface. At the locations of the former bumps the cuts are not visible. The bumps caused the leather over them to be in tension, stretched just a bit. When the bump is removed/flattened, the cut leather edges can move a tiny bit closer to take up the tiny gap. So, bumps are gone, cuts invisible.
wlewisiii
Just another hotel clerk
I personally consider Zeiss bumps to simply be part of the price of owning an old Zeiss. It would have to be really bad before I'd consider having the work done.