Yashica Electro 35 GS light seals

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trueface

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Hi guys. This is my first thread/post but I've been watching this forum for a while. I recently bought an Electro 35 GS that needs new light seals. I will do the job myself but have a few questions about the foam I should use.

I did some research and I'm gonna use open cell foam for the film door and closed cell foam for the rail slots. I just don't know exactly the dimensions I should use. I read that for the film door a foam with 1,5mm thickness is fine, but for the slot rails I'm not sure. I think I heard 2mm thickness, but as I said, not sure if that's right.

I hope you guys can give me some answers. I want to try my new baby. :D


Best regards,
Bruno Ferreira.
 
Light seals aren't uranium bars for nuclear plant so mm here or there isn't critical. People use various materials, I cut strips from mouse pad (pre-optical era) and there are other choices. Cutting strips for grooves add one mm to width so it will pack in nicely and sit on remains of old glue/foam and keep themselves in. Anyway you have to try it and see how it works. Just do not shoot anything important on first roll after you replace seals :)
 
I went to Michael's, an art/hobby store, and bought a package of 2mm closed cell foam. It comes in a package of two 8 X 10 sheets. Cut it with a straight edge and an X-acto with a fresh blade. As mentioned above, cut a tad wider than it's supposed to be and it will stay in place under pressure. For the strips in the door grooves I didn't even have to use contact cement. Those on the door glued up nicely. Make sure you let the glue cure first before closing the door - that way any glued pads will not shift under pressure before the glue has fully dried. Also replaced the dried round seals that are inside the top covers under the re-wind cranks - this stuff crumbles and has a habit of finding its way into view finders.

The closed cell foam replacements look like they will last a life time. Did a GSN, Lynx 1000, 2 different Mamiya M645 1000s, Canon 7, Canon GL17 GIII, Konica S2, and a Minolta Hi-Matic 9 - still have 3/4 of the first pad left.
 
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Light seal kits by Jon Goodman on eBay are excellent. The foam materials work well. Also, black felt with sticky-back.

My only tip is to test the camera afterwards by leaving it in bright light for a few hours.
 
ColSebastianMoran said:
Light seal kits by Jon Goodman on eBay are excellent. The foam materials work well. Also, black felt with sticky-back.

My only tip is to test the camera afterwards by leaving it in bright light for a few hours.
Click to expand...

I can't say enough good things about Jon Goodman's kits. I've used them on SLRs and rangefinders and they work perfectly and have easy to follow instructions.
 
I can't say enough good things about Jon Goodman's kits.
Click to expand...

I'll second that!! There is no one out there who does what he does. A class act from the word go!!

Russ
 
+1 for Jon's kits. He's in transition now, I think, between eBay and a standalone website, so delivery may take a bit longer, but he is definitely the "king of seals" -- great instructions, quality materials, accurately cut and at a very reasonable price. My time is worth money and the cost of one of his kits is far less than the cost of the time it would take me to find, test, and cut the material myself. Highly recommended. JGood21967<at>aol<dot>com
 
Hi guys. Thank you for your replies. I've changed the light seal from the edge of the film door. Had a bit of foam with a sticky side and cutted it myself according to a light seal change tutorial. I didn't touch the seals from the rail slots as they appear good for now. It isn't a pro work, but I will test the camera to see the results.

I'm planning on making a better work later.

I will soon test the camera and post some photos so you can see and make some comments about them.

Again, I thank you for your replies and advices.

Bruno Ferreira.
 
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