One of the most important parts of selling vintage cameras is the restoration and cleaning of every camera that comes in the door. I have gotten pretty darn good at making a dirty camera shine up nice. I can handle dust and dirt with wicked aplomb, but there are a few things that people do to their cameras that really chap my hide.
And now, without further ado, the list of things that make me mad!
STICKERS. I cannot even express how much a sticker can reduce the value of a camera. And people put stickers on cameras for the weirdest reasons! I've seen stickers next to the shutter release that say, "1. Press Here", stickers below the wind knob that say "Wind" (!!!), stickers of the Spice Girls, decals of Nascar, and even Jesus stickers!
TAPE. Oh my god, tape. I have seen tape attaching manuals to the bottoms of cameras, tape keeping detailed instructions on exposure to the back of cameras, tape covering film windows and viewfinders, tape holding leatherette down, and tape wound around hand grips. Enough with the tape, people! Please! STOP TAPING THINGS.
ETCHING. Do you know that people used to etch their social security number on their belongings? I find this so strange in this day of identity theft. But I have run across numerous cameras with social security numbers. I've seen people's names of course, but I've also seen phone numbers, addresses, and post office boxes. And one camera named Betty.
PERMANENT MARKER. Ugh. This is so hard to remove. Especially when it's on leatherette. I have gone through countless replacement heads on my spinning toothbrush. I mean my extra special professional camera cleaning revolving brush tool. (Honest!)
GREASE PEN. This is an issue often found at auction houses. They mistakenly assume that grease pen is easily removable from most camera surfaces. This is not the case, especially when you are dealing with Bakelite or plastic, which can retain the color of the grease pen and can be incredibly difficult or impossible to remove. Auction houses, if you're reading this, Cease and Desist!! Puh-lease!
And lastly, ah, the pleasure of getting a camera with corrosion. Funnily enough, the worst part about corrosion in a camera for me is the smell! It's like old feet and rotten eggs mixed together! Eww!! Take the batteries out of your cameras when you store them people! For the love of all that is good and holy!
Now I know that most of these people thought they'd have their camera forever, and that I shouldn't complain about these problems on a used item, but, well, I just had to vent somewhere. Lucky youse guys. (My apologies for the Chicago accent slipping in)
Know what might make you (and me) feel better? A sparkly clean vintage camera!!
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