How can I repair a light leak in the shutter curtain of a Zenit-B SLR?
Asked 1/16/2012
1 views
2 answers
0
My Zenit-B has developed a light leak that shows up as white spots on photos. I traced it to damage in one shutter curtain: the opaque coating on the fabric has dried out and cracked, creating a small area that lets light through.
I’d prefer not to replace the whole shutter, and this camera has sentimental value, so I’m looking for a practical repair. What material or method can restore light-blocking without making the shutter too stiff or affecting its movement?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
2
Ask around in your local photo forums, perhaps someone has another Zenit-B (or its successor Zenit-E) for sale/giveaway; if you intend to use your existing lens, note that they usually came with M42 mount, but some were with M39. For example, a quick search in an Estonian forum found two recent offers, for 8€ (body+lens) or 5€ (body+leather case). That's less than I'd expect materials plus time for repairing be worth. On eBay, Zenits seem to be overpriced given how widespread they once were.
When buying another one, you can still keep your original Zenit as a memento - "the old dear camera". When trying a DIY fix, you might append "... that I clumsily broke" to that. Zenit isn't exactly designed to be serviceable by user.
To me, the holes in shutter fabric tell that the shutter material has become very fragile over time, and trying to attach some fixing materials might make it much worse. But that might be just me, I've never appreciated sock darning either. If it were my camera, and I'd choose to fix/kill it instead of keeping as is, I might try using something like black rubber spray to paint over the holes. I'd try on some other fabric first to see if it gives me a thin but strong layer.
Originally by user4390. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4390
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A workable DIY fix is to re-coat the damaged shutter-curtain area with a flexible black paint rather than using marker. In the community replies, black batik acrylic paint was applied to the cracked spot to restore opacity, and after testing on developed film it eliminated the light leak. A second thin layer was added for confidence.
Key point: whatever you use must stay light-tight and flexible so it doesn’t interfere with shutter travel. Marker was reported not to work. If the curtain fabric is badly deteriorated overall, replacing the camera body may be more practical, since old Zenit bodies can sometimes be found cheaply, but for a small localized crack this paint approach can be effective.
Apply only a thin coat to the damaged area, let it dry fully, then film-test the camera before relying on it.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI14y ago