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How to replace light gaskets of a Canonet QL17 (-GIII)

1. Tools and stuff required:
• small screwdriver (1 mm blade)
• sharp (!) knife, e.g. sharp carpet knife, X-acto knife or scalpel
• steel ruler (without any dents)
• Q-tips
• wooden toothpicks (optional)
• soft thin tissue
• alcohol or turpentine or lighter gasoline (solvent)
• glue suitable for plastic materials (do not use cyan acrylate glues, excess glue and residues are hard to remove, and things stick very fast so they cannot be placed properly)
1. Gasket material: Almost any kind of foam rubber approx. 2mm thick can be used. Mechanics sometimes use foam rubber sheets for cutting gaskets. It should be available at suppliers for instrumentation workshops. Also, a very similar material can be found in handcrafting shops, it is used for cutting ornaments and other things. This material is available in many colours in sheets from 2 � 5mm thickness.
2. If there are any flocky or rotten residues of the original gaskets, they should be removed with some solvent. Apply a few drops on the gaskets and try to rub and peel them off with Q-tips, toothpicks and screwdriver. There is a gasket in a groove just below the top cover of the camera body. Scratch out its residues with the screwdriver. On the right hand side, there is a little lever protruding into this groove that should not be damaged (this is the reset lever for the frame counter). There is another gasket on the step near the latch side of the door, just below the cartridge hold-down leaf spring that must also be removed. The gasket near the hinge on the camera body is some kind of tape that can easily peeled of completely. Finally clean all gasket locations with solvent and wipe dry.
3. If the gaskets are all gone, here are the proper locations:
• One gasket in the upper groove of the door (approx. 3mm wide)
• One gasket in the lower groove of the door (approx. 5mm wide)
• One gasket on the door on the protruding edge just below the door latches (approx. 3mm wide)
• One gasket on the body near the door hinge (approx. 5mm wide)
• One gasket in the upper groove of the camera body (approx. 2mm wide)
4. Cut the foam rubber sheets into stripes with proper width and approx. 150mm long. With a sharp blade, the foam rubber can be cut very exactly with a steel ruler on a hard surface.
5. Cut the stripes to proper lengths:
• The gaskets for the upper and lower groove of the door begin near the hinge of the door and end in the middle of the bend on the latch side.
• The gasket on the step below the door latches is just as long as the step.
• The gasket on the body near the hinge should cover the whole area except 2mm from either edge.
• The gasket on the upper body groove must be cut into two pieces; the little lever must not be covered.
6. Apply a thin layer of glue on the gaskets and put them into place. Adjust them as properly as possible. Remove any excess glue carefully.
7. The gasket on the edge below the door latches should be pressed into place until the glue really sticks (may take several minutes).
8. Press the gasket into the upper grove of the camera body with the screwdriver blade. If it is approx. 2mm wide, it will stay in place without glue. You may apply some glue to the ends of the gasket to avoid peeling out. As said above, do not cover the little protruding lever.
9. Before loading your first film, you should leave the camera open for 24 hours to avoid any solvent and glue vapours inside the camera.

 

Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2000
From: Winfried Buechsenschuetz [email protected]
To: Robert Monaghan [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Gaskets for Canonet

Hi Robert,

Sponge rubber may sound exotic to you, but this material is just under your right hand ... most mousepads are made of this material.

So one of the easiest ways to get some stripes is to sacrifice a mouse pad and cut it into some "slices" approx. 2mm thick. Then you have sponge rubber stripes 2mm thick and 3...5mm wide. If you need smaller ones, take these stripes and cut them again to proper width.

You may add this as an update to the gasket replacement description.

I have adjusted the rangefinders of some 70's cameras now, and I think that this is not very difficult for someone who knows how to handle a watchmaker's screwdriver. If you think that this might be interesting for your readers, too, it will a pleasure for me to put the procedure in words.

There is not a rangefinder craze in Germany. Of course, our photo magazines write about the Bessa R and Hexar and all this stuff including the Contax rangefinder (which is rarely mentioned in the US, I think). But there are a few people who appreciate the virtues of these things - fortunately not too many, and it is still possible to make real bargains at ebay.

Regards,

Winfried

Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000
From: winf_buechsenschuetz [email protected]
To: Robert Monaghan [email protected]
Subject: Re: Canon Canonet question

Hi Robert,

I know that Winifred is an English female name, but my real name is WINFRIED which is a German male name - just to mention it.

I have included a description of my procedure I performed on the Canonet and (of course with necessary modifications) on some other rangefinders. It is based on some newsgroup postings from other people, especially Stuart Willis from Australia.

The material I used is called "moosgummi" in German (mossy rubber), I did not find a translation yet. It is some kind of dense foam rubber, available in many dimensions in craft shops, some people use it for cutting ornaments etc. A similar material is sold by industrial suppliers for cutting custom gaskets. I also heard that Micro-Tools sells "light baffle" material, unfortunately there is no such supplier selling to individuals in Germany.

Regards,

Winfried

[Ed. note: Thanks again to Winfried for the Update on above...]
Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000
From: Winfried Buechsenschuetz [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Gaskets for Canonet

Hi Rob,

I just found the English translation (or what I believe it is) for the German word "Moosgummi". According to the English version of a website of a manufacturer of this material, the English word is "sponge rubber".

I think the users of your rangefinder site would appreciate if you would integrate this information in my gasket replacement instructions.

Also, these instructions might help people who own other cameras. The main difference is that the Canonet QL17 has most of the gasket material on the rear door, while most other just have gaskets in the body grooves. Some cameras require a pad of 3...5mm thick sponge rubber to keep the film cartridge in place (most cameras have a leaf spring there, but some a rubber pad only).

Again, thank you for putting my article on your website.

Regards,

Winfried

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