A Tip for Removing Old Light Seals

PhotoMat

PhotoMat

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I was going to post a reply on a specific thread, but I thought that this tip might warrant its own thread.

Being classic rangefinder buffs, many of us here have had to deal with the minor repair of replacing old, gummy light-seals. While there are any number of solvents that are quite capable of removing the old seals, they sometimes have the ability to remove more than that -- much to the chagrin of novice do-it-yourself, camera repair types.

One solvent that I have found to be quite effective is a product here in the States called "Goo Gone." This stuff is a citrus-based adhesive remover mainly used for removing annoying price tags and labels. Goo Gone is extremely gentle to painted surfaces, plastics, etc. and does a fantastic job on removing sticky, gummy light-seals. It does leave behind an oily film, but this is quickly taken care of by wiping the area with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol.

Oh, and yes -- the usual disclaimer. I am not an heir to the Goo Gone empire -- just a satisfied customer.
 
Would this indicate that common household citric acid would work equally well?
 
I see it at the hardware store all the time...I'll grab a bottle next visit...
Thanks for the info...I really don't like removing old seals and every bit of help helps...
 
IMO you are better off wetting the old foam with denatured alcohol first, let it sit for a few minutes, then start to scrape out. I've tried "goo gone" on some things but it's oily residue and ability to run everywhere are bad side effects. Once it runs under plates and screws, you'll never get it all out. As mentioned, gas is extremely dangerous as is ether. Ether can be detonated with the heat of a soldering iron, NO flame or spark required. John
 
MEK used outside.

Cut a round wood toothpick at a 45 deg angle thru the center. Use as a scrapper.

Scrape what you can, then cotton swab moistened with MEK. Will not attack paint and it cleans the adhesive better than anything.
 
In order to soften up the old seal prior to scraping out, I use the following approach. Take a strip of tissue about 3/4 inch wide as long as needed and twist into a 'rope'. Tamp this rope down into the channel on top of the old seal. Now apply enough solvent to wet the rope and tamp it down snugly on top of the gunky seal. Leave for a minute or so, remove the tissue rope and scrape out the old seal. You could probably apply the solvent to the tissue rope before inserting into the channel over the old seal.

This approach gives the solvent more time to work on the old seal before it vaporizes and allows you to scrape out most of the old seal in a couple of passes with the shaped toothpick / bamboo skewer of your choice.
 
I use simple lacquer thinner. When applied dry-rotted seals, lacquer thinner seems to bind the rotted foam and makes it easier to remove. Another plus is that it leaves no residue. I apply the laquer thinner carefully with a Q-tip until the seal foam is saturated, let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes, and then I scrape out the melted foam with a micro screwdriver. Once the worst of the foam is scraped out, I pinch the ends of some q-tips flat with a pair of pliers, wet them in laquer thinner, and wipe out the remaining residue. I have replaced the seals on a few hundred (really) cameras this way with great results.
 
Another vote for lacquer thinner. Apply it sparingly (don't flood it) w/ a small squeeze bottle or eye dropper. After letting it soak in for about 10-15 min. scrape off the old seal w/ Jon Goodman's (Interslice on eBay guy) bamboo stick, then clean up w/ a Q-tip dipped in lacquer thinner.
 
Another product which should work well (I assume it's still around, I haven't used it in years) is Ta-Poff (tape off) which we used in the hospital for adhesive tape and tape residue. It won't damage paint or plastic. Any large pharmacy should have it.

When I did the GIII (wow, that was almost 6 years ago!) I used mostly rubbing alcohol and q-tips. The hard part was getting the remains of the old seals all the way out.
 
Goo Gone may be good for something, but I used it once on a camera and won't do it again. It is oily, leaves a slick and flows everywhere. Eventually you may see a stain, like on your focus screen, or shutter curtain and you'll wonder where it came from. I recommend denatured alcohol. John
 
Cut a round toothpick at 45 deg in the center, then use that a a scrapper to get the big stuff.

Then go outside with the camera and moisten a cotton swab with MEK and it will get the rest of the junk out without effort.

Paste a business card over the shutter to protect it from small crud.

MEK is mildly toxic. It will remove adhesive and not attack the paint.
 
WD-40 works really well in removing gooey stuff. Make sure you are not spraying to areas that are sensitive to silicone etc. I have put WD-40 on a tissue or cotton swab to scrape off gooey mess.
 
GooGone melted the paint on my Canon QL17Giii, the paint was polished smooth and hard before I apply it, but after apply some GooGone and waited 1min and wipe, the paint became dull and soft. I ended up clean up all the GooGone and had to sand off the soften paint and repaint some areas. Maybe it just the QL17Giii that uses paint that's to0 delicate for GooGone, but to be safe, I would not use it again on any painted or leathered areas.

I use lighter fluid and occasional WD-40(with extreme caution), and I use those disposable chopstick (not the hard bamboo kind, but the soft wood kind), shave it to 30degree and flat the tip. This type of chopstick is extremely soft, so it won't scratch paint, but enough for scrap off the goo. The downside is that it's too soft, so the tip becomes dull after few scraps, have to shave it then try again.
Chopstick
 
When removing foam from the easier to reach parts, I've found that instead of using cocktail sticks or chopsticks and making mm by mm progress, pencil top erasers can be really good at shifting the majority of the crap, leaving only the corners/harder to reach parts that need the chopstick attention

This kind, or I suppose any kind of eraser that's thin enough would work

12314.jpg
 
I used "goo Gone" once and would never use it again. It runs everywhere like an OIL. Once a camera body is contaminated with it, you will never get it all out. Stay away. If removing old foam, use a mild solvent that evaporates, like denatured alcohol. WD40 is another mistake. John
 
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