Re: bellows treatment

[Clive Warren <Clive.Warren@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>>Have just spent an hour or so applying lanolin to some very dried out >B&J
>>Gover monorail bellows in the hope that they are leather :-)  As >it turns
>>out they do indeed seem to be leather and no longer make the >alarming
>>cracking noises as the standards are moved on the rail :-)
>
>
>To Clive and the group,
>
>I know it may be too late, but I would really like to discourage anybody
>from applying lanolin or vaseline to old bellows; it will make a stinky,
>sticky, dust-attracting mess.
>
>My recommendation is newer products like Armor-All for vinyl or leather
>bellows. There are many similar silicone-based products. Armor-All has
>something specifically for leather, but I have never seen it.
>
>I have treated all my bellows this way for, maybe, thirty years and none of
>them creak or crack. But they do sag.
>
>Stan Patz   NYC
>

Hello Stan,

Too late :-)

I have been using Connolly's Hide Food for many years - a traditional
British product :-)  This is a wonderful mixture of methylated spirits,
lanolin and some other gunk.

I picked up a 1920's motorcycle dispatch rider's full length leather coat a
few years ago.  It looked like a stiff piece of mouldy green canvas.  With
Connollys after 3 days it was a gleaming beautiful supple brown long riders
coat again.

It did take a few blasts down country lanes to air it out and get rid of
the mouldy smell though.....

Right, back to the bellows.  They soaked up the Hide Food and are now
beautifully supple.  A quick polish with a clean lint free cloth after an
overnight soak and they look as good as new.  Now that the meths has
evaporated there is no smell and they are not sticky.

Silicon treatments seem to be the way forwards for contemporary non-leather
bellows - think I'll stay with the Connollys for leather.

Applying the hide food to non-leather bellows would probably make an
unpleasant mess.....

There is a slight sag at mid extensions now that the bellows are supple again.






All the best,

             Clive   http://www.cocam.co.uk
                     Photographic Services, Filters and Equipment
                            http://clive.bel-epa.com
                            Adventures in Cyberspace - Digital Art and Photos


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