Bellows tricks Homebrew Hootch is a Hoot!

    Hi All,
 I think I have resolved my Bellows light leak problems ... It appears to
have worked extremely well...

  I had coated a badly worn out Toyo bellows with a home brew coating
mixture made up of "Upholsterers
Contact Cement" (will not harm or lift foam, rubber, vinyl and has a much
thinner consistency than regular contact cement,), plus " Black Out" paint
used by Neon Sign makers to block light on neon tubes where they do not
want it., and " Roof Caulk " a thick rubber like material used to repair
rubber membrane roofs... The final mix had the consistency of thick melted
ice cream.
       I must say that I am very impressed at the outcome.. The mixture can
be applied very thin and when dry will not stick to itself.
It dries fast as a rubber membrane and appears to be totally light proof!
I also tested it by coating a white plastic garbage bag and wrinkled and
crunched the heck out of it..It did not wear, crease, or lift or stick to
itself ... Pretty tough stuff when completely dry .. It is not absorbed
completely by cloth so that it fills the holes..
     I then coated my bellows at the corners and obvious light leaks first,
and then a second coat over the entire bellows.. It appears as if it is as
good as new! So far no problems or light leaks.! .
      I made the mistake of using a dime sized camel hair brush so there
are obvious brush strokes over the bellows .. It would be much better with
a 1 inch or larger brush or even a fine rubber paint roller on the final
coating.. I also flattened the bellows to apply the mix..
    I guess the next step is to give it the time test.
John Cremati
Received on Sun Apr 25 10:27:12 2004