XA Refurb???

[Rhodie]

Living in South East Asia [Bangkok] with its high humidity, is taking its toll.

I took the little fella out for motorbike trip up north only to find
that the rubber padding has begun to crumble.

Is there anyone out there who can refurbish this loved critter?
Particularly in Asia would be preferable.

Thanks

Rhodie
Bangkok

 

[feenej]

You mean the light seal?

 

[Rhodie]

Absolutely - thank you for the correct term:bang:

 

[drewbarb]

You can replace the light seals yourself. There are various places online to buy light seal foam in all shapes and sizes. It's a fairly easy DIY job- you just have to clean out the old stuff carefully- use a chop-stick or a thin piece of wood and maybe some weak solvent- then apply new foam.

Here's a link to a set of instructions for the XA:
http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/seal/Olympus_XA.pdf

 

[Rhodie]

Thank you for this.
In case I cannot find a local supplier
- it is not something I have looked for to date -
do you have any links for suppliers in the US?
Much appreciate what looks like a simple solution.
Cheers
Rhodie
Bangkok

 

[Mark Wood]

Probably the best person to contact is Jon Goodman who advertises on eBay as "Interslice." He sells an excellent kit that will re-seal a serious number of cameras and has even posted instructions for the XA at:

http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/seal/Olympus_XA.pdf

Jon is also incredibly helpful if you have any queries.

I've no connections with him by the way, other than as a very satisfied customer!

Hope that helps.

Mark

 

[SteveM(PA)]

Jon Goodman rocks! I just did my OM1 over the weekend, and will do my XA when the current roll is finished. Jon's kit has plenty of material (enough for multiple cameras) and a little wooden tool. The booklet in the kit gives details for some popular cameras, including the XA (and many more online, as Mark said). I found it quite easy, and I'm fairly inept.

 

[eli griggs]

I'll also recommend Jon Goodman as a source for material. He ships fast and as was mentioned above, sends plenty of good quality material so you don't have to worry if something goes wrong the first time or two that you try it.

On solvents, I've had better luck with alcohol than with acetone or other solvents. Medical rubbing grade is ok, but I prefer the denatured type from the hardware store.

Eli

 

[mpt600]

I'll add another vote for Jon Goodman, his kits are excellent and very competitively priced. For solvents I've used Ronsonol lighter fluid without any problems.

 

[btgc]

I resealed XA2 using felt - 20cmx1m cost me $0.25 equivalent. Enough to reseal more cameras I can buy