Light Scratches on an old 35mm Camera Chrome Finish.

[TheIdealist]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post here and sadly enough I'm starting off with a few problems. I've never shot film before, so I became interested in my dad's old cameras. One of them was his Yashica Electro 35 GSn, which piqued my interest as it was a rangefinder, something I had never tried before. I was opening it up when I accidentally scratched the chrome finish with a screwdriver. Now it's a pretty light scratch but I'd like to hopefully remove it. Did you guys ever remove any scratches on your old 35mm's Chrome finish? By the way, the chrome is finished on plastic if that helps.

I also heard that scratches on your camera are normal and some people even told me that they are like a badge of honor or something. Is that actually a popular opinion? Perhaps I should just forget about the scratch?

Thanks

 

[gsgary]

Just put some HP5 in it and shoot its only worth a few $ but you could get some good shots with it

 

[compur]

I wouldn't worry about it. You could try polishing it out with polishing compound but it would be difficult to blend in the polished area so you're likely to make matters worse by trying that. If it really concerns you the easiest solution is to buy another identical camera that is not working and switch the scratched part out. That was a popular camera so there are lots of them around.

 

[TheIdealist]

Alright then, I'll keep it as is. I should be enjoying my first experience with a rangefinder rather than stressing over a few scratches. I think some people suggested toothpaste though, but I think you are right about creating an even more conspicuous polished spot.

 

[ann]

good heavens, don't give it a thought, wait until the bottom starts to get brassy, then you know you have shot a lot of film.