fed 2 restoration

santino · Feb 23, 2006

hi all!
here's the story, last friday I've been to Vienna and saw that cute Fed 2 (B) in a old box in a photographic store (for condition see pictures

). the shutter worked fine though the curtains were a bit dry and the viewfinder was dimm/dirty/greasy. I just had to get it, it was only 5 euros!!! back at home I disassembled my new "fedka", did a CLA and it's one of the best russian rangefinders I've ever had (notice the large distance of the rangefinder to the viewfinder, yah baby, it's the contax rangefinder, better accuracy than a normal one). the vulcanite is a bit damaged but it doesn't bother, I was lucky that all of the rust got off

Mitica100 · Feb 23, 2006

Nice job, Santino!! If you ever want to replace the vulcanite on it I can show you how I do mine. I am in the process of restoring my Leica M3 and it should be a dandy.

Congrats meanwhile on a great job.

darin3200 · Feb 23, 2006

Santino, glad to see around again. That looks like a great camera. I tried to repair a zorki 1 with a slow shutter and ended up breaking it, I guess I lack a "gentle touch"

Mitica100 · Feb 23, 2006

darin3200 said:
Santino, glad to see around again. That looks like a great camera. I tried to repair a zorki 1 with a slow shutter and ended up breaking it, I guess I lack a "gentle touch"

Darin, what's broken on your Zorki? They are pretty similar to Leica LTM cameras and hence quite simple to fix. Just curious...

Karalee · Feb 24, 2006

Santy your a legend!! Thats so awesome for 5 bucks!!! You made her look beautiful!

I managed to pick up another argus c-3 for a couple of dollars, its quite rough so I might be in here a whole bunch while i pimp it out :lol:

darin3200 · Feb 24, 2006

Mitica100 said:
Darin, what's broken on your Zorki? They are pretty similar to Leica LTM cameras and hence quite simple to fix. Just curious...

I was attempted to remove the shutter speed dial and ended up jamming the shutter

Mitica100 · Feb 24, 2006

darin3200 said:
I was attempted to remove the shutter speed dial and ended up jamming the shutter

Have you seen this website for Zorki repair?

Zorki_Repair

santino · Feb 24, 2006

thank you all!

Mitica: that would be nice if you could show me how you replace vulcanite :thumbsup:

Darin: it's only two tiny, headless screws :er:

Mitica100 · Feb 24, 2006

santino said:
Mitica: that would be nice if you could show me how you replace vulcanite :thumbsup:

No problem. You will need a few things before you start:

- a piece of leatherette (usually MicroTools carry it), best bet would be Leatherette

- a bottle of paint stripping gel (not liquid but gel) and a small painting brush

- a bottle of leather adhesive, such as Pliobond (in the USA), only if the leatherette is not the self-adhesive type

- a roll of masking tape

- a couple of bamboo chopsticks from any Chinese restaurant, flat tip sharpened

- a very sharp Exacto knife

- very sharp mini scissors

- (optional) magnifying glasses.

You'll need to work on a clean surface, paper towels on it so the paint stripper doesn't reach the surface of the table. You'll need to strip off the old leatherette by:

- painting over the old leatherette with gel paint stripper. Do not paint over painted surfaces like the retaining screws in the front. Best is to paint around them, leaving about 2mm distance between the gel and the screws. That is also valid when painting the gel next to painted edges, always stop 2mm short from any painted edge. Be generous with the gel. Let sit for 45 minutes to a couple of hours, the old leatherette will bubble up and you'll need to lift it with a chopstick tip which you sharpened to a flat tip before you start. Lift away as much as you can, make sure you don't make the gel go over any painted surfaces. Clean the chopsticks often. When all of the old material is lifted, clean the exposed metal with acetone (same caution about painted edges and screws), let dry overnight.

After this step you'll need to lay a template which you will make out of bits of masking tape:

- lay the masking tape all around where the old leatherette used to be, push in with a toothpick all around the edges to make sure you cover the entire area. When you covered the entire area, use your Exacto knife to go around the edges (and screws) and then lift the excess. Now lift the inside tape gently, you should have a template.

Next step deals with cutting the new leatherette:

- place the tape template on the new leatherette and make sure it sticks to it. Cut around it precisely, observing holes for screws and/or dials. Trim with a precision small scissors if necessary.

Next step is laying the cut leatherette:

- take the newly cut leatherette, expose the sticky side (or apply Pliobond if the leatherette doesn't have a sticky surface) and apply slowly, making sure all screw holes are aligned properly. Tuck in the edges using a sharpened chopstick or the cap from a BIC pen (plastic). If you made a mistake, lift gently and reapply, you have about 20 hours until the leatherette is totally glued to the camera body.

That's about it. Have fun and ask away if you have more questions.