#fulvue2

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They’re multiplying…

One on the right is the one I restored.

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Ensign Ful-Vue II: The Restoration

So last month I got this quirky little 1950’s British made camera in a charity shop. An Ensign Ful-Vue II. A medium format camera which was a pseudo-TLR which worked more like a box camera as it had both a fixed aperture (f11) and a fixed shutter speed (1/30th).

It had seen better days as it had dirt and paint chips all over, the shutter release lever occasionally stuck after actuating the mechanism, the strap had pretty much had it and the lock/unlock knob for opening it had lost its cap. But surprisingly for its age the optical elements were only a touch dusty, and after a quick wipe were extremely clear and bright. Considering the condition of the glass and the fact it took 120 film (very much still readily available) I decided to try and get this camera looking as good as possible.

First step was to strip it down and mask up any areas I didn’t want paint getting to. This camera is really quite basic in design, so I had the whole thing stripped down with 3 screws and 1 clip removed.

When masking up the film caddy part, I took extra care to make sure this original advertisement sticker didn’t get damaged.

I decided that to get the best finish, removal of the old paint would probably be best. I initially tried removing it using wire brush tools that came with my rotary tool, and although it was removing the paint it was burning through the brushes too fast. 5 brushes dead and all that was done was 60% of one side. An upgrade was needed.

I started treating the surface with isopropyl alcohol then attacking it with a much bigger brush that could handle higher RPMs without losing its bristles. What took 20 mins with the rotary tool was 5 mins with the drill/brush combo. Progress!

I briefly reassembled the camera at this stage to see how it looked. I was tempted to polish up the metal really well at this point and either have it unpainted or some sort of two-tone effect, but decided to try and keep it original as possible as per the initial plan. I disassembled it again and cracked open the can of matte black spray paint.

Whilst waiting for the spray paint to dry, I dealt with that sticking shutter release lever. I oiled the mechanism using a cotton bud and some oil. I didn’t want to put too much on in case it flicked onto the glass elements during use. That said, unlike other cameras I owned I could at least strip this down easily and clean it off if it did.

With the mechanism working more smoothly than it has done in decades, all that was left was to clean the glass elements.

The moment of truth. The removal of masking tape and reassembly. And I must say I’m very happy with the results. The finish on one side isn’t perfect and it seems I’d scratched the paint ever so slightly when moving the pieces after spraying, but even with these minor points it looks so so much better.

All that’s left to do now is source a new strap and to see if I can fabricate a new cap for the lock/unlock knob.

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Ensign Ful-Vue II shot on Ilford Ortho+ and developed with Rodinal

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Bought this 1950’s Ensign Ful-Vue II the other week from a charity shop. Already posted some photos from it, but my current project is to try and restore it as much as possible.

I’m no expert at this, but I think I should be able to improve it somewhat. Will post a full story upon completion!