I used to swear by bellows paste for old folders, now I'm all in on the dry lube method

For years I'd coat every folding camera bellows with that Ren wax stuff trying to stop light leaks. Then I took in a beat up 1949 Super Ikonta from a guy near Portland, Oregon who said his grandpa never put anything on the bellows. After cleaning the bare cardboard and testing it with a flashlight, I realized the paste was actually causing pinholes by trapping dirt in the creases. I switched to just brushing off dust and applying a thin dry PTFE lube on the folding struts only. Has anyone else found that bellows treatments do more harm than good on pre-1950s cameras?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan_foster6025d ago

That's the thing with older gear, people get obsessed with fixing things that aren't broken. I see the same pattern in my woodshop all the time where everyone wants to slather on expensive oils and sealers on old furniture when a dry brush and some beeswax would do the job better. Same deal with car guys who think more grease is always better on old suspension parts but really just attracts more grit. The older stuff was built simple and it worked best that way. People get sold on this idea that every old thing needs constant maintenance but sometimes leaving it alone is the real preservation. Your grandpa's method of just keeping it clean and dry sounds like it was smarter than half the tutorials online.

the_ryan25d ago

I was reading something the other day about how old military gear from WWII is still functional because they used actual engineering tolerances instead of marketing hype. @nathan_foster60 your point about dry brush and beeswax rings true with a lot of vintage stuff. A buddy of mine restores old hand planes and swears by just wiping them down with a rag and some mineral oil once a year. The whole "more product is better" mindset is a modern invention that mostly sells you stuff you don't need. What's the oldest piece of gear you own that just works without fuss?