My Rolleiflex Journey - Part 2

Ian Howard
9 minutes ago
3 min read

Welcome to this look at My Rolleiflex Journey - Part 2. The great news is we have got to the end of the clean up and repair phase of the process. I have had to call on a few other folk to help out with the process but its looking good and I hope it delivers?

The Camera The camera was dirty and dusty with the exposure dial very stiff to operate and the leather showing a few scuff marks.

Using a lens blower all the dust was blown off the outside of the camera and also from the internal film lens chamber. I did not remove the focus screen and clean inside the viewing chamber as that felt too risky!

The camera was given a slow careful clean using cotton buds and lens cloths with a warm mild soap solution ensuring the camera did not get wet. The next phase was to clean all the glass and metallic parts of the camera with a lens cleaning solution. The lenses were given a final clean inside and out with Zeiss impregnated lens wipes. This was also done with the lens hood and the other lenses that came with the camera

The leather areas of the case were cleaned with leather soap and then fed and treated with a black polish to feed the leather and repair any scuff marks.

The exposure dial was much easier to operate now and a clean ( via the number viewing area) with a tiny amount of GT85 on a cotton bud has resulted in a smooth and free operation of the dial.

It doesn't look new, it looks like a 1959 camera which means its kept its character and history but it feels clean looks clean and appears to be operating smoothly.

The Case The camera case was showing significant impact of its age with the stitching on the lid section having deteriorated significantly to a point where the individual sections were barely held together!

The strap was paper thin and very fragile especially where it connects to the crocodile fasteners. To put it simply the whole thing was NOT fit for purpose!

This is where the skills of my amazing wife came to the rescue! She used her leather crafting skills to replace all the damaged stitching on the case in a manner that makes it impossible to tell from the original and then made a new strap for the camera reusing all of the clips and buckles from the original strap.

All the leather was cleaned and fed giving me a case that is good to go.

The Lens Cap

What lens cap!

When I got the camera it had no lens cap so as a fix for this I called on my brother in law and his 3D printer. He kindly produced me a couple of lens caps.

Its not perfect - but its much better than the one I had!

Its a push fit and works ok and gives me time to find a good Bay ii original or copy.