I was dead set against using a heat gun for old foam removal, but I caved after a nasty Rolleiflex job

For years I thought heat guns were a lazy shortcut that would warp shutter curtains or melt things you don't want melted. But last month I had a Rolleiflex from the 50s with foam that had turned into basically cement. I spent two hours with Q-tips and isopropyl and got maybe a quarter of it off. My buddy at the shop in Chicago said just use a heat gun at 200F and keep it moving. I borrowed his Milwaukee, set it to low, and that foam practically fell off in strips after 30 seconds. No damage to the leather or the focus screen at all. I still think you gotta be careful around plastic parts, but for old metal Rolleis and Hasselblads it's a game changer. How do you guys handle foam that's turned into rock? I feel like I wasted years of thumb labor.

2 comments

2 Comments

vera5142d ago

That 200F sweet spot is the trick nobody talks about, I kept mine at 225 on a Pentax 67 and the foam slid off like warm butter with zero residue. Just gotta watch the plastic winding knobs on the old Russian stuff.

murphy.abby1d ago

Had a buddy try the oven trick on an old Kiev 60 and forgot about the plastic parts, melted the film advance lever clean off. He still uses it but now it's a dedicated pinhole camera basically. Cost him a whole afternoon and a pack of beer to fix his mistake.