Altview@aol.com
Wed, 24 Feb 1999 14:23:05 -0500 (EST)
Richard,
My statement was not meant to repute the proported magical qualities of this
material. It may or may not work as you say. True, I have not had any
experience with this material. My point was that once a bellows starts to
pinhole, it will pinhole further as the material has reached a point of
deterioration that will continue to get worse over time. You of all people
should know that the quality of work I do in my restoration mitigates against
any kind of jury rig solution, which I believe this to be. If people want to
slap this stuff inside their bellows, fine. Go for it. But if anyone is to do
this, do the whole thing, not just what damage is visible. There is no long
term experience with this material, so I will not say it is the magic bullet.
It may not hold up with the constant expansion or contraction a bellows goes
through in daily operation. Then again it may. But I think it is premature to
say this material will be an effective long term solution as nobody really
knows. There are two attitudes at work here about cameras and equipment. There
are those, like myself, who feel about their cameras as a concert violinist
does about his instrument. To be cherished and protected against any kind of
abuse, neglect, and mistreatment. Then there are those who treat their
equipment as merely another tool and use them as only a means to an end. For
those who are in the latter group, this is one solution. For those in the
former, it is unthinkable.
Patrick Alt
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