Sticky Bessa-R back surface: the solution

S

Seele

Anachronistic modernist
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While it is known that the grippy rubbery surface of the Bessa-R camera back can get very sticky with age, like what this thread talked about, there have been some suggestions that wiping it with alcohol would improve matters, but it invariably makes it worse.

With a camera of lesser aspiration by another maker exhibiting the same problem I decided to deal with the sticky rubber situation once and for all, by removing the rubber coating. Here the sticky rubber coating was really a coating rather than a solid rubber piece attached to it, and by using alcohol (methylated spirits, but similar stuff such as vodka would do) I managed to remove it altogether. Then I did the same thing on the Bessa-R and now it is back to a usable condition.

I used a bit of rag cut from a worn-out cotton T-shirt, cut into small pieces about an inch square, moistened with alcohol and rubbed over the surface. The alcohol dissolved the rubber and the rag immediately soaks up the black goo. This takes quite a bit of time, and dozens of squares of rag, to get it totally cleaned, revealing a plastics surface nicely textured in a manner similar to a Braun electric razor, which does not look out of place. In fact it makes the camera looks very presentable instead.

Of course the ultimate fix would be to fit a steel camera back for another Cosina-built camera, properly covered in good quality leatherette, but that is another story altogether.

It goes without saying that if you decide to give it a go and mess things up, I would not be held responsible!
 
For what it's worth here it goes.

bessa_r_back_zpscf18aa7d.jpg
 
Looks nice. I thought that the rubber surface would be thicker. Is the final camera slippery without the rubber?

Finally, did you use denatured alcohol, or dilute it slightly?
 
The rubber is merely a non-slip coating, and if it is a solid piece attached to the back, it would add bulk considerably. The textured back is perfectly usable without being slippery at all.

Methylated spirits is nearly pure alcohol, dilution is definitely not recommended!
 
I understand that you used methylated spirits, then?

I read alcohol, and immediately thought ethanol or propanol. Hence, my question about dilution, as some of these organic compounds will also melt the underlying plastic. The plastic didn't deform with the methylated spirits?
 
The "after" looks pretty good to me. My R is not getting especially sticky but the coating i starting to peel. Mostly around the ridge on the right edge and a little in the center--where my nose rubs against the back, I'm a left eyed shooter--so I suppose at some point I'll want to deal with it. I sort of thought it would eventually peel off, I'll keep this fix in mind, thanks!
Rob
 
Robert and Rob,

The methylated spirits we get here in Australia is pretty much pure ethanol, I used it instead of more aggressive liquids because it would not impact on the underlying plastics material, and it turned out to be totally safe, and much easier to clean off as well.

I am a left-eyed type too, that might have something to do with how much the stickiness vexed me.

As the rubber finish is a sprayed-on coating, it does not "peel off" per se, as it is not a thin sheet applied to the surface. The only way it can be removed is by using alcohol.
 
I know this is a bit late, and I don't know if the rubber coating is the same, but I had a similar "sticky-back" problem with my Nikon N70/F70. Got so bad I just couldn't use it - it felt horrible and left black smudges on my fingers.

I removed the back and the pressure plate and used isopropanol (the 100% stuff they sell at various places here in Oz under the "Diggers" brand) and managed to gradually soften/wipe it completely off with an old t-shirt. It revealed a very glossy black surface underneath which is surprisingly grippy and doesn't attract dust. There is no evidence of any damage to the plastic back at all.

What originally put me onto IPA was some experience cleaning up a fairly grubby Minolta X-570 that I bought used and turned out to be a lot better than I expected. The shiny black plastic has a virtually identical feel to the stuff used in the N70 so I thought "why not?" since it was already pretty much unusable...
 
I see there is a product (in the U.S.) called plasti-dip and its very similiar to the original rubberized coating on your Bessa, might be worth a shot if you'de like to return your camera to "original" look and feel!
 
For non-Australians, "Methylated Spirits" in Australia is about 95% ethanol and does NOT CONTAIN METHANOL. Don't try this with methanol or methanol mixes.
 
I always thought that in Oz and elsewhere, methylated spirit was ethanol with enough methanol added to render it undrinkable.

Cheers,
Dez
 
It seems that in Australia there is no "official" compostion for methylated spirits. I have seen MSDSs that show up to 99.8% ethanol with any of a variety of toxic denaturants, to 98% ethanol / 2% methanol, to ">60% ethanol" with no mention of methanol at all... sounds like a crapshoot to me.
 
ssmc,

I do not know if it really matters if it is methanol or ethanol, some even reported success with scotch. The main thing is that it has to be something strong enough to dissolve the coating, but not strong enough to affect the plastics material underneath.
 
Seele said:
ssmc,

I do not know if it really matters if it is methanol or ethanol, some even reported success with scotch. The main thing is that it has to be something strong enough to dissolve the coating, but not strong enough to affect the plastics material underneath.
Click to expand...

True - what I was getting at was that unless you know exactly what is in what you're using, you could be in for a nasty surprise; for example the F70 user manual specifically warns against cleaning the VF eyepiece with "alcohol". One of the methylated spirits was listed as possibly containing MEK which I'm pretty sure will do a number on most plastics :eek:
 
I have just come to own a Bessa R and my search for a solution to the rear sticky door led me here.

Am also based in Australia and wanted to confirm if in fact the Digger's brand methylated spirits is the safe choice to use for this process.
 
Diggers metho is 95+% ethanol. The denaturing agent is a mixture of denatonium benzoate, methyl isobutane ketone and fluorescein. I don’t know what the effect of those on any covering would be. The labels warn to test on a small inconspicuous area, which is hard on a camera. I used Isocol rubbing alcohol successfully on a sticky Nikon, but again don’t know if the Bessa covering is the same as the Nikon covering.
 
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