Visited the antique market in Portland and saw a vendor selling 'fixed' cameras that were clearly just glued shut

I was browsing the stalls last weekend and one guy had a whole table of old film cameras. He told me he 'restored' them himself. Picked up a Canon AE-1 and the film door wouldn't budge, felt like it was sealed with epoxy. The rewind knob was also totally stuck. It seems like a lot of folks think a quick fix with adhesive is good enough, but that just ruins the camera for any real repair down the line. Has anyone else run into these 'glue jobs' from resellers?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_piper1mo ago

Oh man, that's rough. I once tried to fix a wobbly table leg with a whole tube of epoxy and basically made a modern art sculpture instead of a piece of furniture. So maybe I get the impulse, but on a camera? That's just sad.

norathomas1mo ago

Found a Leica like that once, and gentle heat from a hairdryer softened the glue enough to open it.

christopher_sullivan1mo ago

Just like my attempt to fix a leaky coffee mug with superglue. Thought I was a genius until the handle snapped off the next morning. Some people see a complex mechanical device and their brain just screams "glue goes here". Found a Polaroid once where they'd glued the battery door shut, probably because the contacts were rusty. Makes you wonder if they think it's magic.