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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
02-24-2019, 04:34 AM
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I picked up an old Chinon CE5 recently. Camera was stated as working (and it was) but its plastic body skins were not as good as I had hoped. The leatherette seemed to be suffering a tad and the plastic top and base were looking a lot worse for wear. Initially I used a small amount if IPA cut down with water and strangely it reacted really badly with the plastic - started taking the dye out off the plastic if you can believe that. Luckily I tested a small area first on the base of the camera. Could have been a disaster there.
Anyway I was looking for something too restore the plastic and give it a shine and also to restore its somewhat tatty leatherette. I did a fair amount of web reading and came across a tip that using olive oil can help restore plastic and heal UV damage. I was a bit sceptical but my mum used to have a great faith in olive oil for all kinds of things so thought I may as well give it a try.
The technique is USE SPARINGLY (like VERY sparingly). A tiny blob of Olive Oil on a paper kitchen towel. Rub onto the surface and massage in slowly. Leave the oil in place for about 5 minutes and then wipe clean with a lint free cloth. A light going over with a cloth dampened with some washing up liquid and water if the lint free dry cloth isn't getting a good effect. Hola - miracle of miracles it worked and the ancient Chinon came up looking really nice. The original faded plastic restored a bit but the leatherette came up like new. Obviously maximum care because you don't usually want oil anywhere near a camera but working slowly in sections with tiny amounts of the olive oil really did produce a good result.
Pic of the camera after the OO treatment here....
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/attachments/8-pentax-film-slr-discussion...-caroline-.jpg |
